Mecha Action!
by Iris Sweetheart
Summary: In a futuristic world, an ongoing war is fought to preserve the remains of organic life. In the midst of it, a Defender discovers that there’s more to the Mechas than meets the eye.
1. Breaking the Shield

All Sega characters are © to Sega.  
ShadoMech is © to me.

Mecha Action!  
By: Iris Sweetheart

Chapter 1: Breaking the Shield  
Heavy combat boots sloshed through the murky waters of the sewers. The intruder had on a gas mask over her face to keep out the poisonous fumes of the contaminated water. She was dressed in all black with a white t-shirt and a vest full of pockets that carried small pieces of equipment as well as a backpack on her back for her larger supplies. The Defender had traveled into the Mechalands for over and hour on a mission to disable the protective shield around the capital. After safely making her way near the capital of the Mechalands, Amy found a ladder leading up to a manhole cover and climbed her way to the top.

It took some effort but Amy was able to push open the cover and peered out into her surroundings. She had ended up in an alley far from the street and giving her a safe arrival. After climbing out of the sewer, the pink hedgehog activated a gravity mechanism in her gloves and began to scale the wall of the small building next to her. Seconds later she was on the rooftop and had pulled out a pair of binoculars from her backpack to scan her surroundings. Amy was careful to take in as much as she could in the grim setting. Everything seemed to blend in so easily with each other, but the capital of the Mechalands stood out painfully from the rest.

Tall skyscrapers shot up into the smog filled skies while seven thin, but noticeable, spires surrounded the area. The spires provided the capital with an impenetrable shield defending the area from any outside attack. Thus it was imperative that Amy succeeded in her mission in order for the Defenders to make any progress. The hedgehog took in some more of the scenery…but as her eyes scanned across the horizon, she began to think of the times of when it was green and full of vibrant life. Although she wasn't born during the time Dr. Eggman had expanded his empire, she read in various books and was told through various stories of when the skies were fresh and clear and the land was pure of contamination.

Food was abundant and could easily be grown and harvested. The weather had its extremes but did not threaten the lives of the common folk. It was often enjoyed by them and even aided in growing their food. Large cities did exists but were careful in their pollution and helped to keep nature balanced and secure for future generations. But then Dr. Eggman rose up one day with an army of unstoppable robots and machines. He was able to conquer the nations of the world single handedly and quickly built his empire over the lands that were once pure and untouched by technology. Soon the entire world was covered in factories and buildings that did nothing but increases pollution and decreased the chances of living a long and healthy life. His power grew until the entire planet was his and the rest of the organic population was forced into a small area protected by towering mountains.

Stories have been told that Eggman had the ability to change anyone into a robot and was mostly machine himself. Amy wasn't sure if they were true, but it was possible for the mad scientist to do such things. Putting aside the depressing thoughts, Amy focused on her mission again and prepared to move on. She activated a call signal on her wristwatch and looked towards the capital again. No signs of patrolling fighter jets could be seen; now was the time for the hedgehog to make her move.

In the distance, a faint eagle's cry was heard coming from behind Amy. She looked back to see her transportation quickly swooping in to pick her up; a giant white eagle. With no time to waste, Amy ran towards the edge of the roof and leapt off just as the eagle flew overhead and grabbed onto one of the eagle's talons. She hoisted herself up onto the bird's back and leaned in close towards his head.

"We have to get in and out of the capital before security finds us." Amy said.

The creature replied with a nod and began to fly faster with a powerful flap of his wings. Meanwhile, Amy had opened up her backpack to check on the short-circuiting devices she was given for the mission. Five discs that could easily fit in the palm of her hand took up much of the space in the backpack. As she took out one device, the hedgehog recalled in her mind the briefing Knuckles had given her.

"After various studies of Eggman's defense system around the capital, we were able to figure out that the power for the defense shield is evenly distributed among the spires surrounding the capital. Therefore, if one spire were to break down, the power would balance itself out among the others. Our plan is to shut down at least four or more spires, thus causing the last few to overload and explode. The only way that will happen, Amy, is if you can attach these devices to five of the spires. The second they receive power, the devices should shut down the spires and the last two will overload. But be careful. Eggman's fighter jets will be hot on your heels so work quickly."

The hedgehog nodded her head at the advice and soon she and the white eagle were in capital's vicinity. Amy prepared the discs and carefully climbed down to the eagle's underside grabbing onto to his talons. The first spire was closing in on the two and Amy reached into her backpack hanging on her arm and took out one disc. As they flew by the spire, the young girl tossed the disc towards the tall structure. Four thin tentacles extended out of the body allowing the device to cling onto the spire. Quickly the eagle flew to the next spire and the process was repeated. In a matter of seconds all five discs were attached to a spire and ready to activate.

Amy climbed back onto the eagle's back as the bird began to fly across the capital. They flew over Prime Tower, the center of the capitol and base of Eggman's command. From above, Amy could make out a blue capsule rising onto the roof. Quickly she took out her binoculars for a closer look and saw a young fox inside the capsule.

"Who the heck is that?" Amy asked herself.

Before she could ask the eagle to swing back around to Prime Tower, a cackling electric noise could be heard coming from the seven spires. The shield was activating; Eggman must've found out that they were in the capital. Electric sparks built up and were sent flying wildly off of the spires. Yet as the energy was being sent through the tall structures, the small discs on five of the spires activated and sent off their own wave of electricity shutting down five of the spires. With no other place for the energy to go, vast amounts of energy built up within the last two spires.

Amy and her companion watched as the final two spires exploded from the overload and they let out a cheer of victory. Electricity to the entire capital shut down from the overload and immediately the Defender knew that trouble would soon follow. Just as she suspected, an unsettling noise was heard. Thundering sounds could be heard in the distance. Eggman's fighter jets had been launched meaning it was time for the duo to take their leave.

"Evasive maneuvers! Go!" the hedgehog ordered the bird.

The eagle cried out in response and increased his speed as four jets closed in on them. Suddenly numerous missiles were shot towards the two, but the eagle swerved and barrel rolled to dodge each projectile. Soon the jets were down to using their machine guns in attempt to bring down the intruders. One lone jet went ahead in a wide circle to approach Amy and the eagle head on while the other three continued their rapid-fire. The lone jet had surprised the two rebels and the eagle was forced to go into an immediate dive towards the low buildings. The three jets swerved to avoid the single jet and pursued after the intruders just as they pulled out of the dive.

One jet had trouble pulling out of its dive and exploded upon impact in a glorious blaze destroying a few buildings. Three were left and the intense chase continued on. By then Amy was able to get out a medium sized gun stowed away in her backpack.

"I hope this thing works." Amy muttered to herself.

She was very aware of the fact that the weapon had never been tested before. Having Knuckles giving it to her in a haste manner was dangerous risk. The gun was made with the ability to destroy large objects by shooting a small energy projectile that would cling onto the target and explode seconds later. Despite the fact that it was never tested, the hedgehog was in trouble and it was the only weapon she had on her. Carefully Amy took aim as the gun charged up some energy. Finally it shot one small green energy projectile towards the jet that was following closely. The small sphere of energy clung onto the jet's surface and immediately turned red. Seconds later the entire jet exploded in a ball of fire that fell into the buildings below.

Relieved over her success, Amy prepared to fire at a second jet. The gun charged up again and fired another projectile at the fast moving jets but missed both targets. She tried to fire again but noticed that the weapon was almost out of energy and needed a recharge.

"Darn it! I hate these beta version." Amy groaned. "Take us above the clouds!"

The bird complied with the request but suddenly the two were being attacked again by another barrage of gunfire. The eagle swerved about with the young hedgehog holding on to his feathers tightly. The single jet that was following them stayed closed to the two. Eventually the eagle was able to shake the jet off of them and shot straight up towards the dark, toxic clouds. Amy quickly got on her gas mask and looked up to see the second fighter jet zooming towards them. With the last bit of energy in the gun, Amy fired one quick shot.

Unfortunately part of the jet was destroyed in the resulting blast causing the rest to go down in a blaze of fury towards the two. Quickly Amy laid flat on the eagle's back and they flew straight through the blaze, miraculously coming out unscathed. Finally they were able to fly through the smog clouds and emerged out on the other side where the beautiful blue sky had always been along with the brilliant sun. Amy held up the gun towards the rays of light and energy was restored just in time as the final jet emerged above the clouds. The jet fired off it's machine guns but Amy took aim with a determined attitude and the gun charged up to fire another shot.

"Take this!" the hedgehog shouted.

A small green projectile zoomed towards the enemy jet and attached itself to the exterior before turning a bright red color. Seconds later the jet exploded and Amy breathed a sigh of relief. She and her eagle friend were out of danger and the mission was complete. As the two made their way back to Defender Territory, Amy took off her gas mask and gazed at the blue sky above her. It was quite terrible that not everyone was able to see such a beautiful wonder.


	2. Before It Was Lost

Mecha Action!

Chapter 2: Before It Was Lost  
A new day had come and the sun's rays poured into Defender Territory. As the inhabitants woke up and left their homes in the thickly grown forest, Amy came out of her tree house home as well and stood on the balcony in her night robe. Although trees surrounded her home Amy was able to see a piece of sky through an open area in the tall foliage. She sighed heavily as the lavender sky slowly brightened upon the sun's arrival. Mornings like this always refreshed the hedgehog, especially after a hard mission the day before. Knuckles had rewarded the girl for her hard work and success on yesterday's mission. Amy was given a day off from her Defender duties giving her a chance to go down into the market and catch up on some needed shopping and with friends as well.

The hedgehog walked back into her house to get dressed and start her day. An hour later she was sliding down the ladder from her balcony and raced off towards the market. Already the market was beginning to fill up with customers while the shopkeepers advertised their products or foods for sale. The hustle and bustle of the noise was pleasing to the pink hedgehog as she made her way through the crowd.

"_I love this place. There's so much energy moving here." _Amy thought as she passed by a jewelry shop.

She adored and cherished her Defender home because it was brought to life by the people who lived there, not by machines. Although they were enclosed in a large forest in Defender Territory, that didn't seem to stop the people from going on with their lives as they have always done for years. But there was a time when the Defender Territory was not around. A time when Defenders were not needed for covert operations into dangerous lands. A time when organic life did not struggle to survive day by day. Amy entered into a fruit shop and browsed through the aisles. She picked up a fresh apple and sighed heavily at its vibrant red color.

…Seventy-five years ago. The planet was still pure and the balance between nature and machine was equal and undisturbed. Then that fateful day came…the day when Eggman's tyranny swept across the land. Quickly he wiped out precious life and changed his prisoners into robotic servants for his new world. An army rose up to stand against the evil scientist yet they crumbled under his attacks. With only a few members left in the army and several civilians helpless to the sinister mastermind, the leader stood on his own and unleashed their last efforts of defense: the Emerald of Order.

It was Knuckles who had hidden this jewel from the public eye for a dire situation. With the remains of organic life almost gone after a few years of battle, the red echidna activated the Emerald of Order and became one with its power. By then Eggman had unleashed his newest weapon that would wipe out the last of organic life but Knuckles rose against the mammoth machine alone and defeated it with the power of the emerald. The machine became unusable and the remaining civilians of the organic world retreated to a forest in an area untouched by technology. Once there, Knuckles created a massive chain of mountains using the Emerald of Order and protected the organic lands from Eggman's power.

Although the people found safety, they realized that they had to defend their freedom and do whatever they could to stop Eggman from gaining power. Thus the Defenders were born and their long battle against the Mechas began. Day in and day out brave Defender soldiers fought their way into the Mechalands and battled against Eggman's newest weapons of destruction. But soon the weapons became more powerful thus forcing the Defenders to only accept the elite into their small army. There were only a few but together those few brought down the most powerful of Eggman's machines. With their various abilities, these Defenders stood out among the rest of the organic life and were even hailed as heroes among the organics. Knuckles was even respected and given the title of leader of entire organic nation. But he knew that he alone could not accept all of the credit for most of the credit belonged to his closest friends, the Three Legends.

The Three Legends consisted of Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog and Tails, a young two-tailed fox. If it wasn't for their heroic efforts and risks, Defender Territory would've disappeared in a matter of time. The three of them stuck together like a family, having their small disputes but always coming out on top in the end. For a while it seemed as if nothing could stop their triumphs…nothing at all, until one mission ended it all.

Knuckles and the Three Legends were out to investigate a new weapon that Eggman was creating. They spent hours out in the Mechalands carefully sneaking into the capital where Eggman's base was located. All seemed to be going well for the four Defenders until Eggman and his robots ambushed the three. He had already finished his newest creation…but it was not a machine. No it was an emerald, one like the Emerald of Order but it created chaos instead. Eggman had created the Emerald of Chaos to negate the Emerald of Order and its power was unstoppable. Unprepared for such a force, Knuckles and the Three Legends tried to escape the trap. Unfortunately the Three Legends were captured by Eggman's army of robots and Knuckles narrowly escaped heading back to Defender Territory .

Although the damage was done to the team of Defenders, Eggman was just getting started. He unleashed the power of the newly created emerald and attacked the mountains that protected the Defender Territory. All hope seemed lost as the mountains crumbled from the power of the Emerald of Chaos but Knuckles refused to give up. Summoning all of the power from the Emerald of Order, the echidna not only stopped the attack but also created an invisible barrier around the mountain chain protecting it from Eggman's emerald. The Defenders may have escaped another threatening situation, but not without dire consequences. They had lost their three legendary heroes and Knuckles, out of the guilt of losing his friends, confined himself inside the Great Tree at the center of the forest.

By then the echidna realized how important it was for the Defenders to quickly rise up against Eggman for the scientists could be hard at work again with another plan to bring down the organic nation. They had just entered into a new battle, a battle of speed vs. power and with the golden era of the Defenders quickly fading into history, new heroes had to be discovered before the final days of the organics arrived.

As Amy left the market with a bag full of groceries, her mind was filled with memories of when she was accepted into the Defender force.

"_It was all an accident_." she had always told herself.

Her parents were apart of the Defenders and when she learned of their disappearance into the Mechalands along with their teammates, the young hedgehog left her home to search for them. She knew that no civilian was allowed outside of the well guarded forest so she had to find another way. The small child hid herself in the cargo of a hijacked transporter from the Mechalands that some Defenders were going to use to go back in. It all seemed like a good idea until the transporter was attacked by Eggman's fighter jets in the Mechalands.

The transporter crashed and Amy was the only one to escape. Upon racing away from the accident, she ran into a few guard robots who came to investigate. Helpless with no Defenders around, Amy cowered ready to meet her fate. But the screech of a white eagle filled the skies and the majestic bird swooped down and destroyed the robots. Amy was carried away and back to Defender Territory , but she was taken to the unauthorized grounds that Knuckles lived upon. The hedgehog thought that she would be punished for leaving without permission. To her surprise Knuckles was compassionate to her and took her under his wing. For the next few years she was trained up to be a Defender. When she finally had the courage to do so, she asked Knuckles why he chose her and his answer was brief.

"The white eagle left these grounds by its own will to save you. It must have sensed something inside of you that separates you from us all…something the Three Legends had within them as well."

As his voice faded into the depths of Amy's mind, the hedgehog was already climbing up to her tree house home. Before she opened the front door, she gave one last look into the blue sky above her.

"Am I like the Three Legends? Will I bring Eggman's empire to an end?"

It was something she had always thought about ever since she was saved by the white eagle. She had to be special in some sort of way for the eagle was created by Knuckles and only obeyed him. But to leave by its own will just to save one girl? Perhaps the eagle did see something within her; an unknown force that would bring the war to an end. Amy smiled hoping that she would be the one to bring the long winded war to an end. The Defenders seemed to be getting nowhere with each new advance Eggman made and it was wearing Knuckles out as well; physically and emotionally.


	3. Fading Hope

Mecha Action!

Chapter 3: Fading Hope  
A new day had come and once again Amy was back on the job with another mission. She found herself rushing through the villages later on in the morning and heading towards the center of the forest where an oversized tree stood above the rest. She approached a swampy moat surrounding the Great Tree and the murky water bubbled a bit before producing a walkway for her to walk across. When Amy approached the base of the tree she was transported inside to a dark lair lit by green torches. In the center on a platform stood Knuckles with his back turned towards her. Amy cautiously approached the platform but Knuckles knew she had arrived.

"You're running a little late Amy." he spoke with his back still towards her.

"My apologies sir." Amy replied. "So what's the mission this time?"

The red echidna waved a hand in front of him and a green viewing portal appeared. Two robotic hedgehogs appeared in the portal patrolling the Mechalands and Knuckles motioned for Amy to move in closer.

"I'm not sure who these two are but I do feel that Eggman may be using them in the near future…most likely for destructive reasons." Knuckles spoke.

"How did you come about them?" Amy asked.

"The eagle's vision. He saw them during a solo flight a few nights ago." Knuckles waved his hand again and the viewing portal disappeared. "Amy your mission is to get into the capital of the Mechalands and find out as much as you can about these two new Mechas. Your equipment will be waiting for you when you leave. Good luck."

Amy nodded her head and turned back to leave but stopped. Cautiously she looked over her shoulder; Knuckles still had her back turned towards her.

"Is there something you want?" the echidna asked suddenly.

"Oh! …Well it's just that sometimes you seem to be…I don't know, losing hope in the fight against Eggman. I mean I've read in the past that you were always willing to go on missions, but then again that was when the Three--"

"Amy!"

The hedgehog quickly stopped talking lowering her head shamefully a bit.

"I gave you a mission, now get out." Knuckles said glaring at her over his shoulder.

Amy quickly nodded her head and was transported outside of the tree. Slowly she treaded back across the path over the swamp and made her way back through the village. She sighed and felt slightly embarrassed over her fear of trying to communicate with Knuckles. He had always been the serious type and rarely talked to Amy about anything other than business. Some of the older residents who remembered Knuckles from years ago admit that the echidna was very different back during the times of the Three Legends' reign over Eggman's power. But after their defeat…he changed. It was a gradual change but nonetheless Knuckles became less involved with the missions and eventually shut himself away from everyone and hid inside the Great Tree.

As the pink hedgehog walked by some homes, she noticed her friend, Cream the Rabbit, sitting outside of her house. The young girl, smaller than Amy, was making something small with her hands. Amy decided to talk to Cream before departing on her mission. As she approached her friend Cream looked up from her crafts.

"Oh hi Amy." Cream greeted her cheerfully. "I'm making a good luck bracelet for you, see?"

She held up a small piece of string with some ornaments attached to it. Amy smiled sweetly and sat next to Cream. On the ground in front of the girl was a large ball of yarn and a box full of tiny bracelet ornaments for her use. Amy offered to help Cream with the one she was currently using and Cream handed it over happily.

"So where are you going today?" the rabbit asked.

"Into the Mechalands as usual. Just another boring mission for me." Amy lifted up her bag a bit. "A really boring mission. I don't have much in this bag."

Although Amy and any other Defender were forbidden from disclosing mission information to anyone, Amy felt that telling Cream just a tiny bit of info about her missions was harmless.

"Oh well. At least you'll have my good luck charm just incase you get into any trouble." Cream replied.

"Thanks. So you're still thinking about becoming a Defender when you grow up? That is if the war is still going on by then."

"Sure! I wanna be by my best friend's side helping her with all of her adventures. I'll bet I'll get to meet Knuckles too. Is he as great as everyone says?"

Amy suddenly stopped working on the bracelet feeling a bit nervous about Cream's question. She wasn't sure how to answer knowing that the lingering memories of some were way off about his behavior. Silently Amy set down the half-made bracelet on the ground and turned towards Cream.

"Cream, Knuckles is…" the hedgehog stopped and looked her friend in the eyes.

The innocence that sat within them were too tempting to lie to, so Amy had to tell her the truth.

"Well honestly…Knuckles isn't what he used to be." the smiled began to fade from Cream's face. "You see over the years, before you and I were born, Knuckles had slowly changed into who he is now."

"Do you know why?" Cream asked quietly.

Amy shook her head and continued. "I'm not sure about what happened, but Knuckles isn't the adventurous hero anymore. Now…he's just very quiet and serious."

"And he's always inside that big tree in the center of the forest right?"

Amy nodded her head in agreement. "I just wish I could know what made him this way. Why he's so…isolated about himself. If I knew just one thing about his past, anything…then maybe I could help him."

By then Amy had forgotten she had been talking to Cream who was still attentive to her every word. The hedgehog shook the matter out of her head and continued to work on the bracelet.

"Does this mean that we're gonna lose the war?" Cream asked quietly.

"No, of course not!" Amy answered with a smile. "I'm sure Knuckles still believes that we can win against Eggman and defeat him…"

She saw Cream out of the corner of her eye giving her a worried look. The smile on Amy's face decreased slowly.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure. But it doesn't mean we should give up hope!" she tied up the string completing the bracelet and held up in the light. "As long as a few of us still believe in a better and brighter future, there's always hope in a war."

The Defender stood up putting the bracelet on her wrist and Cream stood up next to her.

"Don't worry Cream. This will all end one day. Until then we'll just have to keep on fighting against Eggman and all of his machines." Amy said putting on her backpack.

"Yeah. Just make sure you come back in one piece so we can fight that bad man together!" Cream added.

Amy giggled and gently patted Cream on the head before leaving for her mission. As the heavy wooden gates opened at the only entrance into the forest, Amy began having thoughts about what Eggman's new weapon could be. Was it those Mechas she saw in the viewing portal? What could they possibly do if they were Eggman's new weapons? Despite what she had said earlier to Cream about the mission being boring, Amy had a distinct feeling that her mission would be dangerous and highly necessary in order for the Defenders to make any progress.

She set out across the grassy field ahead of her towards the vast mountain chain that surrounded Defender Territory. Just beyond that were the ominous smog clouds that constantly loomed over the Mechalands.


	4. The Metals

Mecha Action!

Chapter 4: The Metals  
The noisy traffic echoed from a busy street and into a nearby alley where Amy was laying low in the shadows. The traffic signal in a nearby intersection turned red stopping the traffic right before Amy. A scrap metal truck pulled up in front of her and quickly she climbed into the back and hid under the covering in the scrap pile. While the truck and surrounding traffic waited for the light to turn green, Amy reached into her backpack and pulled out an electronic map of the area she was in. A black and green map appeared and a small dot began to blink at her location.

The truck gave a violent jolt and was on the move slowly traveling in the flow of traffic. Amy examined the map in front of her as it zoomed out to view a larger area. She was four miles from the capital area. All she had to do was lay low in the truck and hope that it would get at least within a mile of the area. With nothing left to do, the hedgehog put her map away and carefully peeked out of the back from under the covering. Traffic behind the truck was just as gloomy as the Mechalands itself. All the vehicles were nearly the same color and strangely being driven by robots. Many of them gave off vast amounts of smog that floated into the atmosphere.

Sighing, she took cover again and rested among the metal parts. Unknown to Amy flying high above the area was a blue metallic hedgehog patrolling the area for any organic life forms. As his red eyes scanned the area below, he suddenly picked up tracings of Amy's body heat among the cold metal she laid in. His eyes glowed a burning red color and immediately Metal Sonic swooped down to the flowing traffic below.

Under the covering in the scrap metal truck, Amy was slowly beginning to fall asleep. Suddenly a jet noise quickly flew overhead and the hedgehog scrambled to the cover opening and looked around outside. Nothing, but she could've sworn she heard something quite disturbing. Ignoring the sound, Amy went back undercover but still stayed attentive for any more disturbing sounds. The jet noise flew by again and Amy peeked out from under the covers. At first she saw nothing right before her but looking up into the sky she saw a strange robotic figure hovering and looking down on her. She squinted her eyes a bit and suddenly realized that it was one of the mechas she had seen earlier that morning in the viewing portal.

"Oh crap…" she whispered to herself and quickly went back under the covering.

The truck turned a corner and Amy searched around in the scrap pile for a weapon since she wasn't given any for her mission. After a frantic search, Amy was able to get her hands on a small laser gun. Some energy was still left in it and so she used it as her only defense. By then Metal Sonic was zooming towards the moving truck and as he got closer, Amy appeared from under the covering and fired off two shots. Metal dodged the first but was hit by the second in his right arm but the weak laser barely fazed him. Amy panicked and began a rapid fire of laser attacks, all of which Metal Sonic dodged.

The gun soon ran out of energy and Amy discarded it as the truck rounded another corner. She saw Metal Sonic stop at the previous corner and the yellow circle in his torso began to light up; he was powering up for some sort of attack. Quickly, Amy threw off the covering from the back of the truck and activated the jetpack that was integrated into her backpack. She took off into the air just as Metal released a large magenta sphere of energy towards her. The Defender was able to dodge the immediate attack but was blown away by the aftershock as well as a swarm of vehicles caught up in the attack.

The sides of buildings on the street were destroyed as cars and trucks were scattered about in a mess. Metal Sonic searched the area for Amy and soon caught her escaping into the sky heading towards the capital area. He pursued with a powerful boom from his jetpack that echoed across the land. The young Defender flew across the sky urging her jetpack to move faster with the dangerous Mecha closing in on her. Suddenly a red laser shot zoomed by her and the hedgehog looked back to see Metal's red eyes flaring. He was obviously capable of shooting lasers from his eyes. More and more shots were made at Amy and she tried her best to dodged them all and hopefully shake the Mecha off of her. Unfortunately one shot got through damaging her jetpack and Amy was sent down in a mad spiral, smoke flowing from her jetpack. The Defender quickly discarded the damaged jetpack and fell down onto a nearby rooftop with no gear on her with the exception of the small tools in her clothing pockets.

"I have to hide, but where?" Amy asked as she searched the rooftops.

The jet noises of Metal Sonic were drawing closer forcing Amy to jump down take cover in the narrow alleyway beside the building she was on. Once in the alley, she took cover in a dumpster and waited until Metal Sonic had gone by. After checking if the coast was clear, Amy climbed out of the dumpster and peered out into the busy street. She realized her chased had carried her close to the capital and her target, the Prime Tower. Prime Tower was Eggman's base of all operations and most likely the place where she would find information on the two Mechas she saw earlier that day.

As the hedgehog watched for a vehicle to carry her to Prime Tower, Metal Sonic hovered over her. The dreadful jet noise caught Amy's attention and she looked up into the Mecha's eyes and ran out onto the sidewalk. Several robots walking by watched the hedgehog warily as she ran from Metal Sonic. The robotic menace suddenly landed in her path blocking Amy and so she ran out into the street towards a manhole covering. Cars and other vehicles came to an abrupt stop as the hedgehog threw open the manhole, pulled on a gas mask, and jumped into the sewers.

She ran and ran as fast as she could through the murky waters looking back every now and then for any signs of Metal Sonic. The Mecha had not followed her down into the sewers; finally she was safe. Amy trudged on through the waters more slowly trying to think of a plan.

"I know that there's another one of those Mechas, but if only I knew where he…"

Amy stopped staring straight ahead of her at a pair of red eyes glowing in the darkness.

"…was?" she finished her thought.

Could it be the second Mecha she saw in the viewing portal? The eyes began to move towards her, its feet sloshing through the sewer waters. Slowly he came into view revealing himself as a black and red metallic hedgehog with the same red eyes as Metal Sonic. A green gem was embedded into the middle of his forehead and the machine held out a hand towards Amy. Yellow energy began to build up within his metallic hand; Amy had to get out of the sewer quickly. She dashed off in the opposite direction and turned the corner. To her right was a ladder leading up to another covered manhole. Quickly the Defender climbed the ladder and exited out of the sewers just as ShadoMech fired off its yellow blast of energy.

Amy rolled away from the manhole as a blast of energy emerged from it. The force also caused several fissures to appear in the street. Traffic came to a screeching halt from the small tremor in the area. As Amy took off towards Prime Tower nearby, she hoped in the back of her mind that ShadoMech destroyed himself in some way. However ShadoMech was alive and well and showed himself to the Defender. He exploded through the pavement and prepared another attack against Amy. She was just feet away from the Prime Tower and all that was standing between her and her goal was a single Mecha.

Not knowing how powerful ShadoMech was, Amy prepared for combat by taking out a small laser gun hidden in her left boot. Hidden on the roof of a building nearby was a white female bat in a purple and black outfit. She looked down on the Defender shaking her head disapprovingly.

"Is that girl out of her mind?" she said in a low voice.

ShadoMech converted his right arm into a powerful laser and fired it off at Amy. The young Defender dodged the attack and quickly retaliated with her own laser gun. The shots hit dead on but none seemed to affect ShadoMech at all. In fact he didn't even flinch when the shots made contact although burn marks were left behind. Knowing that fighting was useless, Amy ran away with hopes of escaping. There was no need to continue this mission for she had all the information she needed about Eggman's secret weapons. After experiencing their power first hand, it became apparent that the Defenders would have to up their defenses a notch.

Amy hopped, jumped and squeezed her way through the debris of traffic caused by ShadoMech's underground attack. She frantically looked around for some sort of vehicle that wasn't heavily damaged but couldn't find any. Suddenly a cable wrapped itself around Amy's ankles and the hedgehog fell to the ground with a loud thud. Cold metallic hands grabbed onto her arms holding her tightly and Amy was lifted into the air. ShadoMech had finally caught her and the Defender was being taken to the top of Prime Tower. The white bat, still hiding on the rooftop of the small building, watched as ShadoMech carried Amy away. She wanted to help but after seeing the destructive power of the Mecha she realized that she would have no chance as well against it. Quickly she left the rooftop and took to the air heading back for Defender Territory.

Meanwhile Amy screamed and shouted as she and ShadoMech flew high above the smaller buildings and to the top of Prime Tower. As they ascended Amy noticed four other skyscrapers that were equal in high with Prime Tower. Curiously she wondered what they were used for but was soon distracted as ShadoMech reached the roof of Prime Tower where Eggman waited. The tall scientist had a largely round body and thin legs underneath. He wore a gray jacket and black pants and on his bald head were a pair of dark glasses and a large brown mustache.

ShadoMech tossed Amy to the roof and she rolled to a stop in front of Eggman. The scientist kicked Amy onto her back and chuckled at her.

"Well, well. Looks like we have ourselves an intruder…a spy for those…Organics." Eggman said with a nasty hiss on the word 'organics'.

Amy slightly growled and sat herself up.

"Whatever you're planning to do with those Mechas, you'll never get away with it!" Amy retorted harshly.

"Ha! And I suppose you're going to stop me? Miles! Come forth!"

A platform in the center of the rooftop opened up and a large capsule machine emerged onto the roof. Inside the blue capsule was a teenage fox who looked a year or two older than Amy. He wore an all black suit and a dark visor over his eyes. Hundreds of wires were attached to several parts of his body and he also had on a special helmet with wires attached to it as well. The pink hedgehog gasped as she noticed two tails attached to the boy.

"It can't be…" she thought.

"Miles, send out a signal for Metal Sonic. He should've returned to the tower by now." Eggman ordered the boy. "ShadoMech, take the spy to the prison cells. It'll be difficult deciding what to do with her."

ShadoMech once again picked up Amy by her arms and carried her to the elevator entrance on the roof. As the Mecha followed Eggman into the elevator Amy got one last glimpse of the mysterious fox in the capsule as he disappeared back down into the Tower.


	5. Trapped

Mecha Action!

Chapter 5: Trapped  
She had only been in there for an hour and already Amy saw a bleak future ahead of her. The prison cells inside Prime Tower were barely lit. Only a few hanging lamps in the aisle between the cells lit the area and most of the bulbs were running out of power. Amy leaned against the bars staying the light of a nearby lamp; she was too afraid to move into the dark, damp shadows of her cell. Having been stripped of her vest and whatever gear she had left in her boots, the Defender was left with very little to do and stared blankly at her surroundings.

"_I hope Cream doesn't get too worried about me_…" Amy thought observing the bracelet Cream had made for her. "_But then again once Knuckles becomes aware of my long absence, then everyone will know that I've gone missing_."

The hedgehog sighed frustrated and banged her head against the cell bars. Amy was much smarter than she felt, she knew it! She knew that she should've gone back for more supplies after being chased around by Metal Sonic. Then again…everyone makes mistakes every now and then. Still she regretted not thinking through the entire situation. Soon other things began to fill her mind such as the immense strength the Metals had and the possibility of even more power hidden within them. Deep in her heart, Amy knew that the Metals would possibly be the ice breaker of the invisible barrier around Defender Territory and if that was the case then the future of the entire Organic population was doomed.

To ease her mind of the threats the Metals presented, Amy began to think about Miles and why Eggman wanted him to search for Metal Sonic. She couldn't understand how someone would look for anything while trapped inside a capsule…but then something else had hit the hedgehog's mind.

"Miles? Where have I heard that name…?" Amy went into deep thought.

The name sounded familiar…a little too familiar for her. Suddenly it dawned on her!

"Miles! Can it really be him?!"

Amy had realized that Miles was the real name of Tails, one of the Three Legends. If the young fox was Tails then that would mean—

"Metal Sonic is…?!"

She felt even dumber now for not figuring it out sooner. Metal Sonic and ShadoMech were obviously Sonic and Shadow, the other two Legends. So the two hedgehogs had not died years ago as most of the Organics thought. They were just captured and made into Mechas like millions of other Organics, thus giving Eggman the upper hand on the war. But why did he spare Tails? Was there something different about him that only Eggman saw?

The heavy door at the far end of the prison area opened and closed with a loud clanging noise. Footsteps could be heard walking towards Amy but she could not see who it was at first. Soon Eggman's round and tall figure came into view fading in and out as he walked by each lamp. He stopped in front of the hedgehog's cell and their eyes met. There was an unsettling silence between them before the scientist spoke.

"So how do you like the hospitality?" Eggman asked.

"Kinda sucks if you ask me." Amy retorted harshly. "But I want to know how you could do such a thing to the world's greatest heroes?! It's totally barbaric!"

"Hmm…so you found out the truth about them? Well I wouldn't be surprised if I were you. What else did you expect me to do with such Organics? They had so much potential power within them, I was just filled with the joy of a child when I finally got my hands on those three!"

"But you spared Tails the pain of becoming a Mecha. Why?"

Eggman glared down at the girl but a disturbing smile crept onto his face. Amy backed away a bit.

"The boy…" the scientist hissed. "He seemed useless to me at first…but then I discovered his secret that only he and the hedgehogs knew."

Amy inched closer gaining some interest.

"His physical capabilities were as normal as any other Organic, but his mind power was superior, fascinating, almost…supernatural. I had to utilize it to my advantage and once that was done, the entire world was in the palm of my hand!"

Angered by this, Amy booted Eggman in his shin. The scientist shouted out in pain and grabbed Amy by the collar of her tank top and slammed her against the bars.

"You got a lot of nerve for someone your age." Eggman growled at her.

"Only because you're a sick freak! No one has the right to take away the life of others and turning them into robots is no exception!" Amy shouted.

Eggman harshly pushed the girl away from him and she tumbled onto the filthy metal floor.

"I have just the right place for you: the underground factory of the Five Towers…but I think I'll roboticize you after your slave sentence." Eggman grinned as he walked away.

Amy quickly stood up and kicked the bars numerous times shouting foul words and insults at the scientist, but he didn't seemed to notice and the prison door closing echoed from down the hall. It was pretty much hopeless for the hedgehog. With her fate already planned by Eggman and no way of contacting Defender Territory, all she could do was sit around and hope for a chance to escape.

Meanwhile in Defender Territory, and young bat raced across the vast fields and to the entrance gates of the forest. After having some conflict with the guards, the bat was finally let in and raced through the villages heading towards the center where the Great Tree stood. As she neared the murky swamp, the water began to boil menacingly. The bat was only a foot away when a monster made of the murky water shot out of the swamp and attempted to grab the bat. She jumped into the air soaring high over the swamp as more creatures emerged trying to capture the bat. After landing on the other side, the bat gazed up the tree and then banged on its base.

"Hey let me in! It's an emergency!" she shouted frantically.

Nothing happened for a few seconds so the bat tried to gain entry again.

"Hey come on! I know you're in there! You haven't left the damn place for almost fifty years!" she shouted, this time with more anger than panic.

Immediately the bat disappeared in a green light and reappeared in Knuckles' chamber deep inside of the tree. The echidna was on his platform staring menacingly at the bat.

"Rouge…" he growled.

Rouge crossed her arms and turned up her nose as she walked onto the platform.

"I'm surprised to see you back here. The last thing I remember you saying—well actually yelling—was that you would never set foot on these lands again." Knuckles eyed her suspiciously. "Am I right?"

Rouge only rolled her eyes at the smart comment and turned her back towards him. She still felt a little resentment over what he did to her years ago.

"I came here with news you might want to know…" Rouge said in response.

"Go on."

"It's about your little prodigy child. She seems to have gotten herself caught by Eggman's new robots."

Knuckles glared at her as if she had told a horrible joke. Suddenly his eyes flashed a shining green color and he suddenly gasped and looked abhorred at Rouge.

"You saw it all happen and didn't do a thing to help?!" apparently Knuckles had a glimpse into her mind. "Have you finally gotten too stubborn for your own kind?!"

Immediately Rouge slapped Knuckles on his face with great force leaving a deep red mark on his cheek. The echidna, forcing his manners upon him, only growled in return and rubbed the mark.

"So now I'm too stubborn for my own kind? Talk about a big step down from your previous 'traitor' assumption!" Rouge spat.

"I only said that because you were a traitor! You left us in a dire situation to chase after your own damn dreams." Knuckles suddenly got into her face. "And on top of that…you used me."

As Knuckles walked away Rouge shivered hugging herself and soon ended up crying. Knuckles stopped upon hearing her sniffles and glanced over his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Rouge quickly wiped her tears away and tried to talk in a normal voice.

"Nothing. I'm fine." The bat turned to Knuckles with a serious face. "So you're not going to do anything about the girl?"

"Of course I'm going to do something." Knuckles replied. "I'll just send out—"

The echidna had stopped and was looking right at Rouge. He had remembered Rouge's earlier comment of when she was just outside of the Great Tree.

"_You haven't left the damn place for almost fifty years!_"

He wasn't sure if Rouge was either making fun of him or just pointing out the obvious but she was telling the truth. It's been forty-six years since Knuckles had truly seen the light of day. He had spent years inside the Great Tree mourning the loss of his closest friends and in turn isolated himself from his own kind. Perhaps it was time for the Defender leader to stop mourning the disappearance of the Three Legends and save his best Defender before he regrets not going after her. Knuckles smirked letting out an inaudible laugh. Rouge's ears perked up and she looked curiously at the echidna.

"I better get a team together. Hopefully the Mechalands haven't changed too much from my last visit." the echidna commented.

Rouge gasped at the shock that Knuckles was finally leaving the Great Tree.

"Thank you Rouge." Knuckles said giving the bat a calm and composed look.

The second the bat's eyes met his, Rouge felt a strong sensation in her heart. She couldn't understand why but she felt something familiar about the look Knuckles was giving her. It was as if she was seeing him for the first time all over again.

After hours of being trapped in her prison cell, Amy felt a rumbling growl in her stomach and held onto it pouting a bit.

"Man, I'm starving." the hedgehog complained.

Just then the prison door creaked open and closed and light metallic footsteps could be heard heading towards Amy. She pushed herself against the bars to see who it was and to her surprise she could see two red eyes walking towards her. As the Mecha passed under a lamp, it was revealed to be Metal Sonic carrying a covered tray. Amy gasped a bit and moved away from the bars as the Mecha stopped in front of her cell. The two looked at each other blankly before Metal Sonic unlocked a small entrance at the base of the cell bars. It was too small for any prisoner to get through but wide enough to send the food tray through it.

Amy took the food tray cautiously as it was slid through and lifted up the lid. A well prepared gourmet dinner was made complete with a main dish of grilled chicken, two vegetable side dishes, and a bottle of water. Amy looked up at Metal Sonic raising an eyebrow.

"A gourmet dinner?" she asked skeptically.

"Father thought it would be pleasing for you to have one last decent meal before sending you into slave work." Metal replied in his monotone voice.

"Father?"

"It is what all Mechas call Dr. Eggman. He created us, so he is our father."

Amy had nothing more to say so the Mecha turned to leave. But the young hedgehog stopped him with another question.

"May I ask you something?" Amy spoke out.

"You may." Metal Sonic replied facing her again.

"…Do you remember anyone named Tails?"

An unsettling silence followed with Metal staring straight at Amy with his glowing red eyes. Thinking that she hit a bad note, Amy bit her lip nervously and hoped that the Mecha would just walk away. Just then Metal Sonic slightly tilted his head. Apparently something was stirred in the Mecha's memory.


	6. The Hedgehog Inside

Mecha Action!

Chapter 6: The Hedgehog Inside

"So… do you know something about him?" Amy's voice sounded nervous but deep in her heart she was as bold as a young girl her age could be.

Again Metal Sonic only replied tilting his head to the other side. Amy wasn't sure if Metal was confused or was still in thought, so she repeated her request a little louder.

"Can you understand me?" she said slowly. "Tails. Do-you-know--"

"I can hear you clearly. There is no need to raise the volume of your voice." Metal spoke in a more normal voice than in a dull monotone one.

"Oh…so-so you know something about Tails?" Amy asked openly.

"Tails…"

Metal paused for a few seconds looking down at the floor. A few computer beeps could be heard coming his interior and then the Mecha looked back up at the Defender again.

"The name seems familiar… but data on it is unknown or hidden within my memory." he honestly answered.

The Defender sighed leaning against the wall with Metal Sonic patiently waiting for her next question. It almost seemed as if the hedgehog had nothing else to talk about until ShadoMech came to mind once again.

"Hey," Amy quickly stood up and pushed herself against the bars. "What about ShadoMech? Do you know anything about him?"

"ShadoMech is my partner on our missions. He has a power output of 250 and can reach speeds up to--"

"I'm not talking about statistics!" Amy interrupted the Mecha. "I mean what do you know about him personally."

Once again Metal was silent for a few brainstorming seconds. Then the robot slightly lifted a hand out towards Amy still staring into her eyes.

"Shado…Mech." Metal said quietly.

Timidly, Amy replied slowly moving her hand towards Metals.

"Are you getting something? Is there something you can remember about ShadoMech?" she asked still moving her hand towards Metal.

Suddenly the Mecha pulled his hand away causing Amy to jump a bit. He looked away down the darken aisle of the prison area almost as if he was in deep thought.

"He is my brother." Metal finally replied.

"Brother?" Amy echoed.

"Yes… my blood brother from birth. But that is all I know."

Amy lowered her eyes in her unsuccessful search for the truth to Metal's past. However one last subject joggled her brain: Miles. Or Tails as she had recently discovered. What was it about the boy the Eggman liked so much? What was the mysterious power the scientist nearly drooled over? She was sure that Metal had the answer to that.

"Well if you can't remember much of your past, then what do you know about Miles? He seems so important to Eggman." Amy commented.

"Miles is used to transmit robotic signals to all of the Mechas around the world." Metal replied efficiently.

"Transmit signals? How?"

"He has an abnormal brain wave pattern unlike any other Organic. Father discovered that turning Miles into a Mecha would disrupt or even destroy the brain wave so he is preserved in a capsule environment where he is given all of his nutritional needs through tubes. Miles is also used to keep track of Defender movement into the Mechalands territory. Defenders do not know how much Father has allowed them to sabotage his plans many times before in the past."

A sudden gasp came from Amy from hearing this information. All of these years Eggman was well aware of when Defenders entered into his territory yet he still allowed them to complete their missions! It was very confusing and somehow disturbing to know that the scientist would allow such things to happen. Of course he probably let the Defenders go about their business for he would always be a step ahead of them. A simple yet cruel teasing game of cat and mouse. Amy leaned back against the wall again sighing as she finally realized that they where fighting a losing war after all of these years. Eggman was probably trying to wear out the Defenders, and from the state of Knuckles' secluded behavior, the scientist was winning.

"Sometimes…" Metal began catching Amy's attention.

She pushed herself up off the wall and faced Metal once again.

"Sometimes there are messages… incomprehensible messages that I get from Miles." Metal finished.

"Miles? Why?" Amy quietly questioned him.

"I don't know. Perhaps they are skewered because of Father's design of Prime Tower, but every now and then Miles would try to send me a message. It's gotten to the point where I've ignored them now."

There was a light feeling of sympathy for the Mecha growing in Amy's heart. Although she was raised to never trust any Mechas, she had to make an exception for Metal Sonic. He seemed to be showing a side of him that made him seem… organic. Arbitrarily she held out the palm of her hands towards the robot perhaps as some form of comfort although she doubted that it would work at all.

"Maybe he's trying to tell you something…" Amy's voice spoke softly.

Metal Sonic looked down at the palm of the Defender's hands contemplating what to do. A circuit somewhere within him commanded his hands to lift up and reach out to touch Amy's. Slowly the metallic hands inched closer and closer to the girls. They were hovering over hers and slowly descended to rest upon the warm and soft hands. Yet at the moment contact was made a violent jolt of electricity surged through the two for a good second or so before blowing them away from each other.

Amy fell back onto the grimy floor while Metal was thrown back into the bars of the cell opposite of Amy's. As the pink hedgehog looked up shaking her head she looked over at Metal who was now sitting on the floor leaning against the bars of the opposite cell. His red eyes were no longer glowing. Had he shut down? Suddenly they flashed red again but Metal Sonic's entire body began to jerk and jolt every few seconds. Finally the Mecha returned to normal standing to his feet, his body slightly jerking on its way up. Amy stood as well but kept her distance from Metal.

"Wh-what happened?" Amy asked frightened by the shock.

Metal twitched and jerked some more with electricity sparks flying from his head before it all ceased for good. Then the Mecha looked at Amy again with his blank stare.

"Shadow…" Metal spoke raising his hands and looking at them.

"What?" Amy asked confused now.

"Shadow… my brother. He's like me as well isn't he?" Metal asked sounding more like an Organic.

The girl nodded her head still confused as ever.

"Tails. Tails, where is he?"

Amy's eyes widen at Metal's anxious behavior. Was he finally gaining some of his memory back?

"Do you remember Tails and Shadow?" the girl asked quickly.

"Yes… but not much. I only know that all three of us were brothers."

"All three of you? But how is Tails…?"

"…Adopted. Our parents adopted him."

Suddenly the metallic hedgehog pressed his hands against his head as if he was suffering from a painful headache. Amy wanted to comfort him but after the shock felt that it was best to stay away. She finally had one more question to ask Metal.

"Can… can you tell me… your name?" Amy asked guessing what his answer would be.

"My name? It's Sonic." Metal Sonic replied.

Somehow Amy finally did it! She was able to help Metal Sonic remember his past… or at least who he is and who is family is. She couldn't figure out why she shocked Metal when they touched, but finally there was a light of hope for the Organic nation. Amy was full of excitement and glee for she would finally have a way out of Prime Tower and back to Defender Territory. But Metal Sonic only looked at her with his emotionless stare.

"Amy…" he began.

The young girl looked at him as happy as she could be.

"…I don't want to fight this war anymore. I just want it to end."

The smile disappeared from Amy's face… but was replaced by an empathetic smile. It seems she had unlocked a shared feeling between her and the Mecha.

Outside of Prime Tower a small group of Defenders had set themselves up around Prime Tower hiding in different spots. Night had fallen upon the Mechalands darkening the already bleak landscape. Bright lights lit up the skies and streets of the grim lands and the capitol area was in chaotic condition. In a narrow alley Rouge and Knuckles kept a close eye on security bots hovering around Prime Tower. Apparently the recent intruder event finally forced Eggman to keep watch over the exterior of Prime Tower. The headlight of a security bot hovered by forcing Knuckles and Rouge back into the alley. After the bot passed, the two peered out into the street. It was still in a mess from the battle earlier that day.

"Looks like Amy caused quite a stir." Knuckles spoke under his breath.

"See why I didn't do anything." Rouge said to him crossly.

Knuckles only glanced an annoyed look at the bat before returning to survey the tower. There had to be over hundreds of security bots hovering around and about Prime Tower making it near impossible for the Defenders to get in undetected.

"Permission to move in sir?" a voice over the communicator spoke.

"No. There's too much going on. All units stay in position." Knuckles commanded the others.

He sighed frustrated and placed a hand to his face brainstorming some kind of plan. If they attempted to take down a few of the security bots then the others would notice and guards would be called upon from Prime Tower. After past experiences Knuckles knew better than to put his own Defenders in the face of grave danger. Rouge, on the other hand, had more personal things on her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about the day she had last seen Knuckles ten years ago. Their last words to each other were intense and none of them seemed to have heard each other. She had to find some closure on the subject.

"It wasn't my fault…" she whispered.

The echidna veered around to face her.

"What was that?" he asked.

"It wasn't my fault." Rouge answered again barely audible.

Immediately Knuckles knew what she was talking about but refused to say anything and turned around.

"I was upset and angry at you because you were so caught up in your work. You never went outside the Great Tree, not even to visit me when I was living in Defender Territory. Yet you expected me to stay at your side no matter what." Rouge was on the verge of crying again.

Knuckles still kept his back to her but was now focused on what she was saying.

"I thought I would be able to make you come out of your shell but you never budged… and I couldn't keep loving you. Why did you neglect me? You say you love me and then completely--"

"I had my responsibilities." Knuckles curtly interrupted Rouge.

"And that's your excuse? You were just too busy for me? You always made time for your soldiers and other serious business and coincidentally pushed me to the bottom of the waiting list!"

"Is that all you care about? Me being an ass towards you? It's no excuse for you abandoning your station during that mission."

"It's a damn good excuse for leaving you in the heat of battle! And you know it just as well as I do…"

Knuckles turned away feeling too stubborn to admit that she was right. Although he loved Rouge with all of his heart in the past, he was just too caught up in his duties and isolation to even show that he cared. Perhaps the war was taking a toll on him and he was too blind to see the consequences. The two remained silent after the short argument and soon Knuckles had a plan in his head. He began to communicate it with the other Defenders but suddenly something strange began to happen. The lights in the immediate area began to flicker on and off before completely shutting down. Soon the security bots went frantic sending messages to each other yet before they could start a search, all of them shut down simultaneously and crashed into the ground.

Confusion rose in the Defenders as they wonder what had just happened. Was it another power surge? Was there someone looking out for them in a secure location? Despite the convenient occurrence, Knuckles saw that it was a good time for his team to move in.

"All units proceed into Prime Tower! Repeat, all units proceed into Prime Tower and stay in contact!" the echidna informed the other Defenders.

He and Rouge rushed into the nearest entrance on their side and soon the entire group of Defenders were making their way up the tower to the prison area.

Inside her prison cell, Amy had finished up her meal and was resting against the wall hoping Metal Sonic would return. Indeed he did come back but seemed to be in a hurry.

"Sonic?" Amy asked standing up.

"Your friends. They've infiltrated the tower and are making their way up here. Father has sent out every robot in the tower against them. I suggest you hurry and join up with them." he informed her while unlocking her cell.

"You're helping us out of here?" Amy asked stepping out.

Before Metal could answer, he received an irate message from Eggman.

"Metal Sonic where are you?! Report immediately to level forty-nine for intruder interception now!!" the voice shouted.

Metal looked back at Amy and then began to leave with the girl hot on her heels.

"I'm sorry Amy but I have to obey Father." Metal apologized.

"I understand." Amy replied. "I'll go look for Tails and tell him that you remembered him ok?"

They had reached the door and Metal Sonic turned back to face her. Gently he took her into his arms and embraced the girl. Amy felt a blush on her face.

"Thank you Amy. Tails is on level 115." Metal said before leaving.

Amy walked out of the prison area taking one last look at Metal before he disappeared down the stairwell. The young Defender then ran off in the opposite direction in hopes of finding Tails on her way up the tower.

Knuckles and Rouge had joined up with three other Defenders and the group entered into an elevator that took them up to the forty-ninth floor.

"Are you sure there's no other way to the prison area?" Knuckles asked a raccoon with a black visor over his eyes.

"Yes sir. Our studies show that the ground elevators stop at the forty-ninth floor while a different set begin at the fifty-fourth floor. We'll have to take the stairwell to the fifty-third floor where the prison cells are." the raccoon responded not looking directly at Knuckles; apparently he was blind.

With all the information he needed, Knuckles prepared himself for battle as well as Rouge and the other Defenders. When the elevator stopped at the forty-ninth floor, the doors remained still for a few tense seconds. There could possibly be hundreds of Mechas on the other side. All five Defenders stood quietly and soon the doors began to slide open revealing a sea of Mechas just waiting to attack. Knuckles led the attack on the robots by charging in first followed immediately by his team. The five of them went into a furious battle firing off their laser guns and using their fighting skills to take out the weakest robots first.

Soon more advanced robots began to join the fight but Rouge and Knuckles saw no problem to this. Together they charged the stronger robots taking them out in one powerful blow. As Rouge took a short breather from her attacks she noticed a group of particularly strong robots advancing upon the raccoon's back. Before she could warn her comrade the raccoon back flipped into the air soaring over the robots and quickly pulled out his guns from their holsters. Immediately a shower of laser shots rained down upon the three robots destroying them and the raccoon landed twirling his guns before placing them in their holsters again.

"Hey nice shot!" Rouge called out to the raccoon.

"Thank you!" he replied before going after some more robots.

"_These guys haven't lost their steam at all since I left_." Rouge thought to herself as she destroyed another robot.

The fierce battle continued on for a few more minutes until robots stopped arriving. Soon the Defenders had won and Knuckles ordered his teammates to move on but two other Mechas stood in their path. Metal Sonic and ShadoMech had arrived and were ready to take on the small group.

"Are these the guys you were talking about before?" Knuckles asked Rouge.

"Yeah but don't let them fool you though. They're a lot stronger and faster than they look." the bat warned him.

"They must be Eggman's secret weapon."

ShadoMech pointed a shining metal finger at the group and spoke to them.

"We have been given orders from Father to exterminate you intruders. Resist now and your death will be brief and efficient." his voice was slightly deeper than Metal Sonic's.

"I'm sorry but we'll have to decline on your offer." Knuckles got into a fighting stance. "We're on a mission to save one of our own."


	7. New Power

Mecha Action!

Chapter 7: New Power 

The tiny green emerald that hung around Knuckles' neck glowed fiercely as he charged towards ShadoMech. In return, the Mecha charged as well and the two clashed their fists as the start of the battle. Metal Sonic went to battle the other Defenders and explosions began to blind the area from Metal's rocket launchers. As Rouge dodged the explosions and pressed herself against the wall, she noticed Knuckles being thrown through a metal wall by ShadoMech's sheer strength. It was obvious to her that the five Defenders were not going to make it through the battle.

The fierce lion Defender punched Metal away from his deaf comrade with his cybernetic arm. Rouge covered herself as Metal slammed into the wall next to her and slowly peeked between her fingers at the Mecha. His red eye was looking directly at her and there seemed to be some sort of serenity within them. Just then a whip wrapped around Metal Sonic's neck and pulled him back into the battle. Rouge found herself being scolded by Knuckles and quickly joined the battle again.

With the help of the young phoenix Defender, he and Rouge were able to pin Metal Sonic against the wall while the lion charged at the Mecha ready to shock him with an electric device on his arm. Metal shoved Rouge and the phoenix away and charged the lion head on. A powerful electric flash lit up the area and as the light clear, the lion Defender had been thrown back with his metallic arm nearly destroyed. Rouge attempted to jump kick Metal from behind but the robot quickly spun around and grabbed her ankle. Immediately the blind raccoon had thrown an electric shock disc towards the blue Mecha. Metal destroyed the weapon with a simply laser attack and flew into the raccoon trapping him against the wall by his neck. With two Defenders under control, all that was left was the young phoenix. He tried his best with his whip again wrapping it around Metal's neck.

The robot used the trap to his advantage and sent a strong but non-lethal shock through all three of the Defenders. They fell to the floor lifeless for a few seconds before Rouge and the raccoon stood; the shock was too much for the young phoenix. Rouge was the first to attack again sending a fury of attacks towards Metal Sonic. The robot's responsive systems were more than efficient; it almost seemed as if he was reading Rouge's mind before she attacked. Suddenly the face-off ended just as quickly as it had started with Rouge blocking a severe blow from Metal. Her forearm was fractured causing the bat to quit the battle. The raccoon had just finished making some adjustments to his laser gun when Metal charged at him. Rouge was approached from behind by the lion.

"Are you ok?" he asked the bat.

"Yeah. My arm's a little messed up but it's ok." Rouge replied. "Is he gonna be ok? Shouldn't you help him?"

The two observed the raccoon fiercely in battle with Metal Sonic. It was amazing how accurate his blocks and dodges were as he executed them flawlessly. Then the lion informed Rouge that he used his sensitive hearing skills to detect the direction of each attack and his opponent. It was this that unlocked Rouge's memory's to when she had first joined the Defender force only ten years ago. She had remembered seeing the same raccoon during the training session for newcomers. He and the echidna worked very close together an on her first mission, Rouge saw the raccoon's undying loyalty to his leader. It was this that made her want to join the force… before she had fallen in love with Knuckles.

As the memory faded, Rouge could feel herself being pulled up by the lion.

"Come on, we better get you and Phoenix out of here." the large lion informed Rouge picking up the younger Defender.

Carefully he lifted Rouge to her feet and the three hurried over towards the elevator. ShadoMech, who was busy fighting Knuckles, spotted the three trying to escape and fired a missile in their direction.

"LOOK OUT!!" Knuckles shouted to his team.

Rouge and the lion looked behind them and dove to the side to avoid the missile as it blew up the elevator. Now the Defenders were trapped with Eggman's deadliest robots with very little hope left for them. The lion, determined to serve his kind and leader, decided to join the fight again even with his destroyed metallic arm.

"Rouge, stay here with Phoenix. I'd rather die fighting then as a sitting duck." the lion said setting Phoenix down next to Rouge.

He took off heading towards ShadoMech to help Knuckles battle the robotic hedgehog. Rouge hoped that the other Defender teams would be able to reach them.

Meanwhile, Amy found herself getting off the elevator on the 115 floor. She looked back at the elevator as the doors closed thinking about the other Defenders.

"_I hope they're ok without me._" she thought to herself.

The eerie blue glow of the corridor ahead of her told her that Tails was on this floor. As she began to walk down the corridor the temperature began to drop dramatically. Soon the young hedgehog found it hard to keep herself from shivering but trudged on towards the heavy doors ahead of her. After she had reached the doors, a puff of breath was exerted from Amy's mouth in a frustrated manner. There was a security clearance to get into the room and without any equipment Amy's mission was hopeless.

"I can't believe I came all the way up here for nothing."

Amy sighed turning away but a few beeping noises from the security system caught her attention. She looked back to see the system granting her access but how did this happen? No matter, the doors were opening before her eyes and soon she would be able to meet Tails face to face. As the heavy metal doors opened inward, a frosty cloud poured out from within the room nearly freezing Amy's legs and caused her to shiver horribly from head to toe. Ignoring the frostbite feeling in her limbs, Amy trudged on into the frosty room taking in the sights of the large blue room. Frost covered nearly all of the computer equipment but everything seemed to be working perfectly. The capsule machine in the center of the room caught Amy's eye and she stopped staring at the boy within the capsule.

He appeared to be a few inches taller than Amy and indeed appeared to be older than the hedgehog as well. His unkempt hair fell over half of the visor he was wearing and his two bushy tails laid motionless behind him. There appeared to be no liquid of some sort inside the capsule leaving Amy to assume that the fox floated because of a gravity adjustment. As Amy crept towards the capsule, she wondered if the boy was awake. Suddenly he gave a jolt scaring Amy and immediately his two tails became active swishing behind him in a rhythmic motion. The young Defender stared into the dark visor over Tails' eyes unable to tell whether he was looking at her or not.

"Who are you?" the boy asked Amy… but his mouth did not move.

It was strange, but Tails' voice did not seem natural. It sounded as if it was all within Amy's head and she looked around to see if there were any speakers within the room.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" Tails' voice echoed louder into the hedgehog's mind.

Stiffened by the angered voice, Amy tried her best to speak but only small clouds of heat were exerted from her mouth. There was brief silence in which the two stared at each other momentarily before Tails spoke again in Amy's mind.

"Amy… Your name is Amy?" he asked.

The timid hedgehog nodded her head silently. After another short silence, Amy had finally built up some courage to speak to Tails.

"I've come to tell you about Sonic… he remembered you. He remembered everything about you and Shadow."

Tails said nothing to her and Amy wondered if he was paying attention to her at all. She stepped forward calling out his name gently. Tails did not answer. Cautiously the hedgehog stepped forward again calling out to Tails and even waved her hand at him a bit.

"LEAVE!!" his voice shattered her mind.

"B-but what about--"

"LEAVE NOW!!"

Amy stammered suddenly confused about Tails wanting her out. The fox only grew frustrated by the girl's hesitant behavior and caused the alarms to go off finally convincing Amy to leave the area. As she ran back down the corridor towards the elevator, hundreds of tiny wire-framed figures poured out of Tails' lab and chased after Amy. Many of them caught the girl just as she reached out for the call button on the elevator and the Defender was dragged to the ground as the figures piled onto her frail body. She looked back towards the lab as the doors began to close and screamed out for Tails' help but fox gave no reply; his tails had become stationary again as the heavy doors closed and locked up. Amy screamed as the figurines pulled her down into a hidden passage in the wall where she and several figurines fell down a dark shaft.

Back on the forty-ninth floor, the mighty lion was faced with a barrage of lightning fast attacks from ShadoMech pushing him back against the wall. After the attacks stopped the lion tried to move in for a power punch but ShadoMech dodged it with ease and quickly built up electricity within his hand. The Mecha jammed the hand into the lion's stomach violently shocking him and knocking the great beast unconscious. Suddenly Knuckled tackled ShadoMech from behind and they were at it again.

The raccoon had finally overpowered Metal Sonic wrapping the Mecha with strong cables and aiming his laser gun at the robot. ShadoMech briefly to see his brother at gun point. Immediately he threw Knuckles aside and, in a flash, flew towards the raccoon. The experienced Defender heard the Mecha flying towards him and spun around pulling out a dagger from his pocket. CRASH! ShadoMech rammed into the raccoon with his razor sharp claws piercing through the Defender's stomach and the Defender's dagger and arm through ShadoMech's left eye. Knuckles and Rouge were left in shock as the raccoon grunted in pain helplessly.

"Rick! No!" Knuckles shouted running towards Rick and ShadoMech.

"Stop!" ShadoMech ordered the echidna.

Kncukles forced himself to stop clenching his fist.

"Take one more step and this Organic will be destroyed." the Mecha used his free hand to rip Rick's arm from his eye and threw the dagger to the side. "I can be repaired easily by Father, but as for you…"

The sinister robot slowly turned his blood covered hand inside Rick's body; the raccoon tried to hold in his yells.

"You are irreplaceable."

With no warning, ShadoMech ripped his hand out of the raccoon's stomach. His yells echoed throughout the area as well as Rouge's and Knuckles' as a large amount of blood splattered everywhere. Rick fell to the floor with Rouge rushing to his side and Knuckles glaring at ShadoMech.

"You!" the echidna's eyes were glowing a mad green. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!"

A giant hand wrapped around ShadoMech's neck but the Mecha did nothing to stop the echidna. This behavior was quite suspicious to Knuckles but he was too focused on avenging one of his best Defenders.

"If I was capable of feelings I would pity you." ShadoMech spoke calmly.

Knuckles said nothing in return.

"It's incomprehensible as to why you Organics continue fighting against Father's power. Day in and day out you make futile efforts to try and overpower Father, but they are easily crushed by one move we Mechas make setting you back years and years. I'm surprised that after so long you still haven't figured out the obvious truth."

"And what would that be?" Knuckles finally asked.

"That Father is allowing you to foil a few of his unimportant plans such as your disabling of the Capital's protective barrier. Father knew that sooner or later you would do such a thing and let it happen for us two Metals were about to be unleashed upon your tiny nation."

Rouge was taken aback by the new information but kept her comments to herself. Knuckles, however, was not phased and still held ShadoMech by his neck. Suddenly he looked away from ShadoMech and stared at Metal Sonic who was standing in a dark corner, his red glowing eyes standing out clearly. Knuckles grunted before turning his eyes back to ShadoMech.

"You must understand that Father has the power to defeat you in a single battle but enjoys watching you Organics struggle. Now that you know that your existence is useless… it's time to bring it to and end."

Just as ShadoMech emitted his last words a gigantic claw exploded through the wall and grabbed onto Knuckles and ShadoMech. Rouge shouted as the two were pulled back into the hole which apparently lead to the outside to a giant orange and gray machine with seven legs. Eggman, who was piloting the machine, had drilled his way to the inside of the tower and was now holding Knuckles and ShadoMech grinning.

"I'll just skip the formalities and get straight down to business with eliminating you Organics." the scientist said with an unkindly hiss.

Quickly Eggman threw Knuckle and ShadoMech towards the ground with ShadoMech disappearing as he fell. The echidna was alone now with a chance to possibly rid the world of Eggman. Using the powers of the Emerald of Order, he slowed his descent and began to fly upward towards Eggman ready to attack. A bright green light flashed from the area as Knuckled collided with Eggman shield and the two went into a furious battle. Several of the machine's claws went after Knuckles but he was able to dodge them even as they attacked continuously. Slowly the two leaders were climbing up Prime Tower as they battled and eventually found themselves on the rooftop with Eggman's machine almost too big to fit.

As they continued to fight, ShadoMech silently ascended from over the edge of the roof and began to power up an attack aimed at Knuckles. Immediately the echidna sensed the impending doom and briefly paused from his battle with Knuckles to encase ShadoMech in an emerald green shield. He then forced the shield away from the area and it crashed into another building releasing ShadoMech upon impact. The Mecha only glared at the bright flashes of green coming from Prime Tower's rooftop and then flew off elsewhere.

Inside Prime Tower on the forty-ninth floor, Rouge was stuck with three disabled Defenders and had no way out. Just as she thought the mission was over a loud banging noise came from a secret passage in a wall nearby. Rouge looked over at the small door as it was kicked out and Amy fell out of the secret passage slightly covered in dust. The hedgehog looked at her surroundings frowning a bit at what she saw. She then saw Rouge kneeling next to the still conscious raccoon who was holding on to his life with the bat pressing a rag onto his wound to stop the bleeding.

"Oh my goodness! What happened? Is he ok?!" Amy asked as she joined Rouge.

"Yeah, he'll be fine. One of Eggman's new robots got him. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about." Rouge answered looking away.

It didn't take long for Amy to figure out who Rouge was talking about. It had to be ShadoMech for Metal Sonic had already chose not to be apart of the war anymore. A light clanking noise came from behind Amy and she and Rouge looked to see Metal walking towards them. Rouge proceeded to stand up ready to fight but Amy stopped her. The hedgehog shook her head and quietly the bat sat back down quit confused.

"I should've stopped him." Metal said quietly.

"I don't blame you Sonic. You had to show your loyalty to Eggman or else Shadow would've gotten suspicious of you." Amy replied.

Just then Rouge stood up joining the two with a shocked look on her face.

"What did you just call him?!" Rouge demanded.

"Sonic, it's his name." the pink hedgehog replied in a quiet manner.

"He's…but… how… everyone thinks that they're dead." Rouge was referring to the Three Legends.

"They're not. This is Sonic and I'm sure you just saw Shadow."

"Well what about Tails?"

"…He's alive too… but not roboticized. I found him near the top of the tower inside a capsule." Amy explained. "Sonic, I told him about you. About how you remembered him and Shadow. He didn't say anything at all. He just wanted me to leave after that."

Metal Sonic silently looked at Amy before speaking again.

"Eggman must have known someone had entered into the lab. He constantly monitors it for intruders even if he's away. Tails was only trying to protect you and himself." the Mecha replied.

Amy nodded her head and then surveyed the area and the three Defenders.

"We better get them out of here and back to Defender Territory. Are there any others in the tower?" Amy asked Rouge.

"Yeah but I'm sure they left as soon as things got too rough, at least that's what Knuckles had ordered them to do before we came here." Rouge answered. "But how are we gonna get out of here? The elevator is busted."

By then Metal Sonic had left the two girls and was carefully lifting Rick in his arms. The raccoon grunted a bit but did not seem to protest the robot's help.

"There's a service elevator at the other end of the level. I'll lead you out of here but you two are on your own once we reach the exit. I can't risk being seen helping you Defenders." Metal explained.

The girls nodded their heads and picked up Phoenix together and followed Metal Sonic down the corridor he and ShadoMech had blocked off to the Defenders. As he led the girls Rick grunted again in his arms and Metal looked down to see a smile on the raccoon's face.

"Bless you Sonic." he struggled to say. "It's a miracle to have you back again after so long."

Although he wasn't able to show his appreciation, Sonic began to feel a familiar comforting feeling that he hadn't felt in a long time.

Outside the battle between Knuckles and Eggman raged on with the two delivering more powerful attacks towards each other. A crushing claw smashed Knuckles into the pavement and Eggman slammed the claw onto the echidna over and over to make sure he was dead. But a bright green light shone from under the claw and a powerful force pushed up against the claw. Eggman fought against the force but the gears on his machine soon began to creak and spark under the heavy pressure. Suddenly the arm gave away to the force and broke down with a large explosion. Knuckles flew out of the small crater yanking the mechanical arm off of the machine and threw off over the edge of the tower. Despite the loss of one leg, Eggman still had an ace up his sleeve. A large cannon appeared out of the front of the machine's body and Eggman already had Knuckles locked on target.

"You know Knuckles if you try hard enough I bet you can guess what powers this cannon." Eggman said almost teasing the red echidna.

Knuckles' eyes briefly flashed green and he gasped upon his findings.

"The Emerald of Chaos…" he said.

The scientist merely chuckled and began to power up the cannon.

"You know after fighting for so many years now I've grown tired of toying around with you Organics." Eggman said resting head on his hand.

"Then I'll relieve you of you boredom." Knuckles before he began to power up.

The scientist smiled accepting the invitation to a power showdown. When the two were fully powered hey looked each other in the eyes before two power beams where shot off. They lit up the smog filled skies giving off several shock waves that shook Prime Tower. Gradually Eggman raised the power level of the cannon forcing Knuckles to give out more power. Suddenly the beams of energy began to mix in with each other causing a chain reaction. Immediately an explosion occurred blowing Knuckles away from the area and pushing Eggman's machine over the edge. The scientist himself was knocked out by the explosion leaving him helpless and his machine to crash into the ground.

Knuckles was able to stop himself in mid-air and watched as the machine crashed with an enormous explosion. A fireball shot up incinerating one side of Prime Tower and the entire block. Amy, Rouge, and the revived Phoenix and lion had gotten far away from the area but looked back to see a bit of the fireball rise over the smaller buildings. Both Amy and Rouge hoped that Knuckles wasn't caught in the blast. Hovering high above Prime Tower was ShadoMech and he watched as the fireball subsided into a large fire. Slowly the Mecha's eyes scanned the area and he spotted Knuckles leaving the area… but the robot did not follow. Instead he scanned the fire below and picked up the Emerald of Chaos still in one piece.

In the flash of an eye ShadoMech zoomed downward towards the fire diving into it to retrieve the Emerald of Chaos. Seconds later he emerged, his metallic skin glowed a hot red color. His metallic skin slowly cooled off returning to its normal color as he gazed at the tiny emerald in the palm of his hand. Its grayish purple color shined fire light mesmerizing ShadoMech's eyes. Suddenly he looked up at the gaping hole Eggman's machine had created and saw Metal Sonic standing in the opening. ShadoMech clenched the jewel in his hand and then flew to the rooftop where he summoned Tails with a radio signal. Seconds later the blue capsule appeared on the usual platform among the debris from the battle.

"Miles." ShaoMech approached the fox. "Send a message to all Mechas. Inform them that the Organics have killed Father and that I, ShadoMech, have taken over as supreme ruler of the Mechalands!"

Tails frowned a bit before sending out the message using the antenna on top of the capsule. As the signal traveled throughout the land, Mechas big and small began to make all sorts of noises either using objects they had or using their own noise making systems. ShadoMech stood on the rooftop looking all around him as the air filled with the mechanical grieving of the robots. Down below still standing in the gaping hole, Metal Sonic observed his surroundings as well taking in all of the noise. He then looked up and wondered what his brother was thinking.

…As Tails' capsule disappeared back into Prime Tower, ShadoMech walked out towards the ledge and look towards the horizon where the Defender Territory stood.

"Finally," ShadoMech spoke as his red eyes glowed. "I have risen over you my dear brother and have become the better of us both as it should've been for years."


	8. Brother

Mecha Action!

Chapter 8: Brother…

Days later after the intense battle that killed Eggman, tension grew between the two worlds. ShadoMech had ordered the best Mechas to upgrade their systems and prepare for an invasion on Defender Territory. The Mechalands' capital was in a state of panic as robots everywhere obeyed ShadoMech's orders sacrificing whatever they had to support the army. Inside Prime Tower, Metal Sonic was recharging his battery pack in his lab. The Mecha had hooked himself up to a charging machine next to the capsule he had awoken in when his new 'life' began. His red eyes were dimmed as the charging machine send waves of energy into his body and Metal's inactive mind began to wander through countless files of lost memory.

They flashed through his mind as brief glimpses, each memory seeming familiar to the Mecha. Suddenly a scene flashed into Metal's memory… a scenery of Defender Territory. The sun was beaming down upon the flourishing forest as usual. Metal could see two kids running around playing tag: a black and red hedgehog and a two-tailed fox. The black hedgehog stopped and turned towards Metal.

"Hey Sonic come on!" he said to the Mecha.

Metal found himself following Shadow and Tails through the forest and to a small pond in an open area. Shadow and Tails found themselves a spot next to the pond and Metal joined them. After few seconds of resting, Metal looked over into the pond and saw… a small blue hedgehog with green eyes. The little boy laughed and splashed at the water before he was pushed in from behind. His head emerged from the water laughing at Shadow.

Then the scene flashed to another memory. This time Sonic and Shadow were a little older and looking up into a tree at Tails who was apparently stuck.

"Don't worry Tails! We'll get you down." Sonic shouted to his little brother.

"No! I think I can dot it!" Tails responded.

It seemed as if he was preparing to jump.

"No don't! Just wait!" Shadow turned to Sonic. "Hey we gotta do something."

"I know but what?"

Just then Shadow looked up the tree and a look of confusion fell upon his face.

"TAILS!" he cried out

Immediately Sonic looked up the tree just to see Tails jumping out and twirling his tails around. It didn't seem to work at first but slowly Tails' descent began to slow. He stopped just a foot above the ground, his Tails still twirling, and slowly began to rise. Sonic and Shadow began to laugh together as they watched their little brother rise into the sky a bit before he dropped to the ground. Immediately Sonic and Shadow hugged Tails as they all laughed happily together at Tails' new ability.

"I can't believe you did it!" Sonic shouted.

"I know! This is so cool!" Tails responded.

Suddenly the scene faded away and another, more darker scene faded into view. A few years had past by again for Metal was now looking at a much older Tails who seemed a bit nervous about something. The two were standing by the Great Tree at night surrounded by the darkness of the forest and the swamp protecting the tree.

"W-what if he doesn't like me?" the teenager asked squeezing his tails.

"Don't worry little brother. You got what it takes to be a Defender. Knuckles told me so." Sonic replied.

Somehow Tails didn't seem to relax at all even after Sonic's encouraging words. Just then a green light flashed and as it faded away Shadow came into view and approached the two.

"He'll see you now Tails." the older hedgehog said to the fox.

Immediately the fox dropped his tails and stood near the tree before disappearing in a green light. Shadow turned to Sonic as soon as their brother was gone.

"Still nervous?" the black hedgehog asked.

"Yeah but he'll get through the trial. He's got what it takes." Sonic replied.

"Let's hope so."

Shadow looked up into the star filled sky and sighed dropping his arms to the side.

"Something bothering you?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know. I'm just remembering what mom told us years ago about the war, that it'll change us. Not just the ones who are fighting but everyone." Shadow said sounding worried.

"Hey don't worry Shadow." Sonic placed a hand on his shoulder. "We're brothers so nothing will ever come between us as long as we stick together."

Shadow could only smile at his little brother's optimism that never seemed to fade away even in the darkest moments. Seconds later Tails appeared again in a green flash surprising Sonic and Shadow.

"Done already? What happened?" Sonic immediately asked the fox.

Silently Tails walked up to the hedgehogs, his head hung hiding his eyes behind his hair. Suddenly he began to shake upsetting both Shadow and Sonic.

"Tails? What happened? What did he say?" Shadow asked bending over a bit towards Tails.

Still he wouldn't say anything still shaking as if he were to break down in tears.

"Tails…" Sonic said in a softer tone.

Suddenly the boy broke out into laughter raising his head towards the heavens and letting his voice carry through the trees. Shadow and Sonic had stepped back surprised by Tails' sudden burst of happiness. The teenager continued on laughing for a while and then began to calm down wiping some sweat off of his brow. Finally Tails was able to breathe normally and wiped a few tears away from his eyes. Sonic and Shadow moved closer to him again.

"W-what happened?" Sonic asked.

"Well it was kinda freaky at first cause as soon as I got in there Knuckles started attacking me like some sort of maniac. So I just started running and dodging his attacks. Then he started yelling at me telling me to attack so I did. But he kept disappearing and reappearing somewhere else and hitting me so after I got a hang of his plan, I faked a punch and as soon as he disappeared and reappeared behind me I gave him a kick in his face and he hit the ground like super hard! But then I thought he was gonna beat the hell out of me with the look he was giving me. But then he smiled and said 'Good job. You're on the team.' and I totally freaked out and started laughing!"

By the time Tails had finished he was nearly out of breath but still held his beaming smile. Shadow patted him on his shoulder but Sonic had a particularly angry look on his face.

"That's it? A two minute brawl and you're in?!" Sonic's voice had raised a bit. "Bullshit! Shadow and I nearly got our asses fried in a three hour trial with that forest freak! Why I oughta—"

"Cool it Sonic!!" Shadow had held back his brother who was ready to blow a fuse. "The important thing is that Tails is on the team so we'll be together all the time. Besides this time we should be celebrating Tails' initiation. Not the fact that he got in… on a cheap shot."

Shadow had added a hint of anger on the last few words but held in his aggression unlike Sonic who was still fuming. Shadow added another friendly pat to Tails' back receiving a friendly smile from the fox. Sonic finally calmed down and was able to give Tails a smile and a path appeared from the swamp allowing the brothers cross safely.

The scene faded away and another scene faded into Metal Sonic's mind… but this one was in the Mechalands and he and his brothers were in a dire situation. Sonic saw Shadow being attacked and taken away by a gigantic robot.

"Shadow!" Sonic cried out.

He tried to move but couldn't. A robot just as big as the one with Shadow was holding Sonic down. Immediately Sonic used all of his strength to get the robot off of him and dashed off towards the robot carrying Shadow away. In a flash Sonic smashed straight through the robot causing it to drop Shadow to the ground. Sonic approached his brother and shook him panicking.

"Shadow! Are you ok?" the blue hedgehog asked.

"…Get…Tails…" the black hedgehog lifted a weak finger towards Tails who was cowering on the ground covered in wounds.

Angrily, Sonic dashed off towards the robots surround the fox and destroyed them in a blink of an eye. He then approached his brother and slowly pulled his hands away from his face.

"Tails, it's ok. It's me." Sonic said in his soft voice.

Tails looked up at his brother and hugged him.

"I wanna leave Sonic. I don't want to do this anymore…" Tails' voice was trembling as he held onto his brother tightly.

Slowly he caressed his brother calming him down. Strangely Metal felt a great sorrow within him but was unsure as to what was going on. The memory still continued on.

"I'm… I'm sorry Tails." Sonic's voice was croaked a bit. "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have pushed you to become a Defender."

Sonic pulled Tails a little closer to him.

"We just… wanted to have you around all the time… Shadow and I. Should've known better…"

"S-Sonic…" Tails spoke weakly.

The hedgehog looked down at the fox. His eyes were looking back behind Sonic so the hedgehog turned around. To his horror Eggman had approached Shadow and was now holding the black hedgehog in the claw of his gigantic machine. Carefully Sonic let Tails down and stood up to face Eggman. Although his body was riddled with injuries all over, he still found the strength to fight. The evil scientist hissed a low laughter seconds before Sonic disappeared in a flash zooming towards the machine. Eggman tried to defend with his second claw but Sonic had broke through and smashed into the body of the machine. This disruption allowed Shadow to escape the claw and he joined Sonic on the ground in front of Eggman's machine.

"Ready?" Sonic asked Shadow.

Shadow replied with a steady nod and the two brothers stared down Eggman. The two steel claws came smashing down into the pavement but the hedgehogs leapt into the air aiming for the cockpit. Suddenly Eggman activated his shield that violently shocked Sonic and Shadow as soon as they made contact with it. The two fell to the ground smoke rising from their bodies. A claw from Eggman's machine reached out for the two but Sonic saw it coming and quickly stood up and jumped away.

"Shadow get up!" Sonic shouted to his brother.

Slowly the black hedgehog rolled to his back and looked up just into time to see the gigantic closing in on him. Immediately the hedgehog rolled away but Eggman nabbed onto his leg and lifted him up. Sonic was about to attack but Eggman slammed his older brother into a nearby building knocking him unconscious. The scientist then took on the blue hedgehog who moved around quickly. But soon he was stopped as a giant claw fell down upon him nearly crushing his body. Far from the battle, the injured Tails watched as his older brothers were taken out easily and cried out to them.

"Sonic! Shadow!" his voice echoed off the buildings and an invisible wave of magnetic energy was released from his body.

As it traveled along the street, all of the immobile robots were bent and crushed under its power. When it finally reached Eggman's machine, the metal exterior was crushed and crumpled in by the magnetic power causing the claw on top of Sonic to push down against him harder than before. Broken up by the sheer panic of the situation, Tails could only break down into tears. There was no one around to help the three as chaos reigned over the area and the memory faded away as Sonic lost consciousness.

Metal Sonic's memories faded away and he returned to the present still recharging. But his body gave a violent jolt with his red eyes illuminating. Quietly the Mecha scanned his surroundings and then yanked the recharging cables out of his body. As he stepped out of his open capsule, Metal's computerized brain received a strange signal that could've only came from Tails.

"Sonic… it's me… Tails" the voice spoke to him in a distant manner. "Please get me out of here… I want to go home."

Metal Sonic nodded his head and looked up towards the ceiling as if he could see into Tails' lab that was floors above him.

"I'm coming Tails. I'll get us out of here… me, you, and Shadow."

A few floors below in the central control room, ShadoMech was busy sending out orders across the Mechalands. The robots were working endlessly to grant his every demand. ShadoMech wanted to make sure that only his best robots were on the frontline to destroy the Mechalands and settled for no less. Even though the invisible barrier protected Defender Territory, ShadoMech was sure that he would be able to break the barrier now that he had possession the Emerald of Chaos. Metal Sonic had entered into the room and the second he saw his brother he stopped frozen in place. He wasn't sure if he could go through with it… but he promised Tails that he would get all three of them out of the Mechalands. Although the Mechas would have no leader, at least the brothers would be safe.

Putting all fears aside, Metal slowly approached ShadoMech from behind. Immediately his older brother spun around staring Metal Sonic down with his red eyes. Carefully ShadoMech scanned Metal before he spoke.

"My sensors detect that you have recharged only sixty percent of your energy. Go back and finish up recharging so I may give you your duties." ShadoMech said to his brother but Metal did not move.

"I have something important to talk about…" Metal Sonic spoke.

ShadoMech faced his brother again.

"What is it Metal Sonic?"

"It's about Tails. He's been talking to me and he says that he wants to go home. I've been wanting to do the same so I hope--"

"You have been having unauthorized contact with Miles?" ShadoMech loomed over Metal. "Your behavior is unacceptable Metal Sonic. I order you to get a system scan to clean out any viruses--"

"Shadow, just listen to me! Our brother Tails is scared and he wants to go home! How can you ignore him?"

"Silence Metal Sonic!! Your tactics to distract me from my duty will not phase me!"

"What are you talking about?"

Suddenly ShadoMech punched Metal to the ground and stepped on his stomach.

"I don't know how you were able to override your subservient system but I will not allow you to rise over me as ruler of the Mechalands!"

"Shadow I don't want your place! I just want you to stop! This isn't who you and I are. We're Defenders and those are you friends you are going to destroy!"

"How **dare** you associate me with those lower life forms!!"

Metal Sonic tried to defend himself but ShadoMech lifted up the blue Mecha and carried him to the window.

"Shadow, try to remember! I'm Sonic, your brother! Tails is your brother too! You have to remember him!" Metal pleaded trying to break ShadoMech's grip.

"The only family I have now is my late Father. As for you…" ShadoMech pulled back Metal preparing to throw him out of the window. "you are a traitor to us all."

The glass window shattered as Metal Sonic was thrown through it and fell a few floors. Yet he was able to stop himself and hover into the air staring up at the broken window he was thrown out of. ShadoMech appeared and stared down at his younger brother for a few seconds before disappearing.

"Leave Sonic!" Tails' voice shattered into Metal's mind. "He's going to destroy you!"

The distant sound of patrol jets could be heard and quickly Metal Sonic flew away from the capital area. The jets were closing in on him as he sped away towards Defender Territory but he knew that he would not be able to make it before the jets reached him. Quickly he turned on the jets and fired off two energy shots destroying both jets. As the flaming heaps fell towards the ground Metal Sonic looked off towards the green territory hoping to find someone he could trust.

"I know I can trust Amy… I'm not sure about Knuckles though. I'm sure that once he remembers me he'll help me save Shadow and Tails."

With that little hope left within him, Metal Sonic took off for the Mechalands to find his help.


	9. Heartaches and the Happy Ending

_This chapter is a bit long so you might want to snack on something while you read._

Mecha Action!

Chapter 9: Heartaches and the "Happy Ending"

The sky seemed less brighter than usual because of the inevitable threat of another major battle. The small nation of Organics was in a state of emergency as Knuckles had every man who could, prepare weapons and take part in the battle. The Defenders themselves where busy giving out positions to those who were able to fight, while Amy and other elite Defenders were busy going over plans with Knuckles in the Great Tree. A large round table had been set up on the platform in the center of Knuckles' lair. Around the table sat Amy, Rouge, and nine other elite Defenders including Phoenix, and the lion. Knuckles was at the head of the room briefing his soldiers on how they would attack the Mechalands capital.

"There are about six major roads we can access in order to get into the capital without slowing down. If we can block off the flow of traffic from going in and out of the capital on these streets then we'll have a slight advantage before Mecha defenses kick in."

As Knuckles continued on, Amy tried her best to stay attentive but her mind kept on wandering back and forth between Metal Sonic and Tails. As the young girl twisted her hair around her finger, Rouge, sitting next to her, took notice and leaned over to whisper to her.

"Calm down kid." Rouge whispered. "Rick's gonna be fine, it's nothing serious."

"It's not that Rouge. It's just that... well I can't say—"

"Is there a problem Amy?" Knuckles interrupted the girls putting them on the spot.

Amy and Rouge looked up immediately with the young hedgehog turning red on her cheeks. She stammered a bit before Rouge jumped in with an excuse.

"Just a technical question sir." the bat filled in smoothly and Amy nodding her head in agreement.

"Hmm... just pay attention. This is important." Knuckles replied.

Knuckles continued on with his mission briefing taking the attention away from the girls. Rouge leaned back over towards Amy to pick up where they had left off.

"Is it about that metal hedgehog?" Rouge whispered.

Without looking at Rouge, Amy nodded solemnly and that was the end of it. The meeting continued on for about another twenty minutes before Knuckles was interrupted by an imbalance in the atmosphere.

"We might be able to have the advantage if we move out early tomorrow..." the red echidna stopped as his eyes flashed green.

He suddenly became suspicious of something that was obviously outside the tree as he walked off the platform to the area where outsiders entered.

"Is there a problem sir?" the lion asked as he and the other Defenders turned to see where Knuckles was going.

Their leader said nothing as he stepped off the platform and let out a low growl. He then waved his hand and the green light appeared as someone materialized within it. As the light faded away, sudden gasps came from the elite Defenders at the table with Amy being the first to speak.

"Sonic!" she shouted jumping out of her seat.

The other Defenders spoke softly among each other wondering what Amy was talking about. Rouge tried to get the girl to sit down but Amy pulled herself away from the bat and quickly dashed off the platform. However, Knuckles stopped the girl before she could reach Metal Sonic. The elite Defenders fell silent waiting for the echidna's reaction.

"Knuckles! I'm so glad to see—"

"Silence!!" the echidna snapped at the Mecha. "How did you enter into our territory? The barrier should've stopped you!"

"It didn't and neither did the eagle. Knuckles, I came here to ask for your help." Metal said earnestly.

"Our help!? How dare they try to get an operative on the inside!" the lion shouted standing up.

Several others began to agree shouting their arguments and standing as well except for Rouge. Amy found herself trying to calm the elites down in hopes of allowing Sonic to speak once more.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE INTRUDER!?" Knuckles voice bellowed over the others instantly silencing them.

"Intruder? How can you say that to your best friend!?" Metal replied.

"How dare you insult my position by associating me with you Mechas! Go back to your own kind!!"

"I am with my own kind!!"

A deafening silence fell upon the room as the two stopped their argument. The elites had nothing to say but instead were interested in why a Mecha would make such an accusation. Amy boldly approached Knuckles and place a hand on his shoulder.

"Knuckles, please listen to him—"

"Stay away from me!" Knuckles slapped the girl away. "And why are you siding with him!?"

"Don't hurt her Knuckles!" Metal Sonic came in between the two Organics separating them. "You should be thanking her for bringing back one of your best Defenders."

The echidna gave no reply except turn back and walked onto the platform. The elites said nothing as they slowly sat back down in their seats... but Knuckles wasn't finished yet. Suddenly he turned back, his eyes glowing a menacing green color and Amy and Metal Sonic found themselves being pulled to the floor and held down by bright green chains. Several of the elites created a commotion while Rouge stood up rushing over to Knuckles to stop him.

"Hey, leave them alone!" the bat shouted.

"Stay out of this!!" Knuckles shouted at Rouge causing her to stop. "This is his punishment for trespassing and Amy's for betrayal. Because of this incident I've decided to move the troops out tonight."

"But sir, it's irrational to rush into battle like this!" a tiger retorted.

"We are moving out tonight! Gather up your troops and move out into the fields where I'll be waiting."

In a blinding green light all except for Amy, Metal Sonic, and Knuckles disappeared from the room. The echidna approached the two and looked down upon them with disgust.

"You." he glared at Metal. "Remove yourself from my territory and never return. As for you." he glared at Amy. "Take any personal items from your home and leave for it will be destroyed and you will never be allowed into Defender Territory ever again!"

With that said the three of them disappeared from inside the tree. Knuckles reappeared out in the fields while Amy and Metal Sonic reappeared by the tree leading up to Amy's home. Metal gazed around at the familiar settings of the home he remembered from years ago. But his feelings of nostalgia were interrupted by the sounds of a weeping girl. Amy had collapsed to her knees and was crying deeply into her hands. Metal kneeled next to her and comforted the girl with his cold metallic hand.

"Amy, we can still stop the battle. We just need to find someone who can trust us both." Sonic said with some hope.

Silently his young friend looked up at him with tears pouring out of her eyes. She had lost the trust of the one who had taken her in and trained her and all Metal could say was that they had to try harder? Why even bother at this point? Amy remembered how the elite Defenders reacted to Metal Sonic's arrival. She doubted any other Defender or Organic would help them. Rouge would probably be working close with Knuckles so her help would be no good and Cream was just a child. Amy decided that the best thing for her to do now was to gather up whatever she could from her home and leave with Metal.

After wiping away her tears, she silently climbed the ladder to her home; Metal hovered up along side Amy using the jet on his back. As she went into her house, Metal stood by the door watching her as she gathered up some personal items in her backpack. Amy looked back at Metal and sniffled a bit before returning to her chore.

"I'm sorry Sonic but I just don't understand why we should continue on." Amy said picking up a picture of her and her parents. "I thought about trying to use Tails to send out a signal to the Mechas telling them to not listen to ShadoMech's orders, but then he might find out and kill the both of us. I thought I would be able to make a difference or even stop the war but I guess I was wrong."

A sudden thought came to Metal Sonic and an idea came to him almost immediately.

"Amy," the pink hedgehog stopped and looked up at her mechanical friend. "maybe you can still stop the war. That is if it's not too late."

"What do you mean Sonic?" Amy asked curious of what was going on in his mind.

Metal walked in and approached her.

"It's about Tails and his... natural born 'gift'. Maybe we can use it to keep the Mechas and the Defenders from fighting... that is if it doesn't kill us all."

Now Amy definitely wanted to know what Metal was thinking but before she could ask, he was already urging her to leave her personal belongings and bring whatever weapons or gadgets she had. Minutes later the two let the hut and were on their way out of the forest when Amy told Metal Sonic to stop and land near some more huts on the ground

"I just saw someone I know." Amy said as she hopped out of the Mecha's arms and ran off into some shrubbery.

She hurried through the dark forest trying to catch up with the small rabbit she had seen running off from the village. As the young Defender emerged from some bushes, she came across Cream who was sitting by a small pond and looking towards the sky. Cream looked back to see Amy and beamed at her friend.

"Hi Amy. Why are you still here? Aren't you going to fight with the others?" Cream asked as two transporters flew overhead.

"I'm afraid not. I'm going on a special mission with a friend." Amy said giving her best smile.

Some rustling came from the bushes behind the girls and Cream looked back looking as happy as she could be.

"Is that your friend back there? He doesn't have to be so shy you know." Cream said.

Amy gave a halfhearted smile hoping that Cream wouldn't ask Metal Sonic to reveal himself.

"Hey come on out!" the rabbit shouted waving her hands. "You don't have to be afraid of us."

Amy wanted to hush Cream but before she could do anything, the bushes began to rustle again and Metal Sonic slowly stepped out of them. Cream yelped jumping back and holding onto Amy causing Metal to freeze in place.

"Please, don't be afraid of me." Metal said softly holding out a hand. "I...I used to be just like you a long time ago."

A few silent seconds went by before Cream cautiously stepped away from Amy and approached Metal. As he bent down to her level, Cream nervously placed a hand on his face and then the other and felt around the cold frame of his countenance. Soon Cream's look of fear became a look of awe as her finger went over his red and black eyes. She then held onto his hand as they gently closed over hers.

"Are you... Sonic?" Cream whispered.

Metal nodded his head as Amy watched on.

"Did that Eggman turn you into a robot?"

"I suppose so." Metal answered looking away.

Cream let out a small giggle and held Metal's hand with both of hers.

"He may change our outside, but he can never change what we have inside." the child answered optimistically.

Amy let out a small giggle as Cream hugged Metal. Suddenly he began to remember what it was like coming home from a dangerous mission to a crowd of cheering Organics. He missed that feeling so much and now felt as if he had come home from his first mission all over again. Not wanting to break up the moment, Amy approached the two and reminded Metal that they had to be on their way. Metal lifted Amy into his arms and took a few steps away from Cream.

"I knew you would come back Sonic!" Cream said to the Mecha. "Are you going to bring Shadow and Tails back as well?"

"I'll try to." Metal replied.

"Stay strong Cream and don't give up hope for us." Amy added.

After that, Metal Sonic took off into the air and he and Amy were on their way across the fields heading back into the Mechalands. In the distance, Amy could see the Defender army and a few transporters in the sky advancing through the mountain chain to the Mechalands. She sighed and hoped that she and Metal Sonic would reach Tails before any blood was shed.

Deep within the heart of the Mechalands' capital, thousands of machines and robots were marching out to the borders of the capital weapons ready to fire. Hundreds more robots began to march out of the basement levels of the five towers including Prime Tower. Their daring and fearless leader, ShadoMech, was perched on top of Prime Tower looking out towards Defender Territory as four transporters descended below the clouds falling beneath the buildings near the mountain chain.

"They're coming." ShadoMech said to himself.

He held up the Emerald of Chaos that hung around his neck and looked at it sparkle in the city lights. So much power mesmerized the Mecha to the point where he felt unstoppable or even god-like. Suddenly he received a signal from one of the army leaders and took off heading towards the frontline of his army.

At the frontline of the Defender army, Knuckles had perched himself on top of a building scoping out where the Mecha army had set themselves up. Unfortunately the Defenders weren't able to block off any of the major roads Knuckles had discussed.

"Looks like ShadoMech anticipated an early intrusion." Knuckles muttered under his breath.

Just then Rouge appeared from over the side of the roof and landed on top. She slowly approached Knuckles from the behind but obviously the echidna knew who it was.

"What is it Rouge?" Knuckles asked without turning around.

"We don't have to fight this battle, you know. It's really senseless considering who we're up against." Rouge answered.

"I know who we're up against." Knuckles harshly grabbed Rouge by her neck and pointed out towards the bright lights moving through the city. "Do you see those lights moving? Do you see how big that army is? Shadow obviously wants to fight!"

"You knew it was them all along?" the bat pulled herself out of Knuckles' grip.

"Of course I did." Knuckles went back to observing the Mecha army. "From the moment I laid eyes on them in Prime Tower it was pretty obvious."

"Why did you fight them if you knew it was Sonic and Shadow? I thought you guys were the best of friends."

"Were the best of friends! You already know that once someone is roboticized their loyalty goes, or went, completely to Eggman; even if they retain some information of who they once were. It's either that or face destruction."

She wasn't sure if she was understanding the entire situation but Rouge had a hunch as to why Knuckles was so bitter towards ShadoMech and Metal Sonic. Yet she had to ask for confirmation.

"So you'll just turn your back on them after seeing that they've obtained a new look?" Rouge asked in a demanding way. "Well what about Tails? Amy told me that he wasn't roboticized."

Knuckles only glanced at her over his shoulder and silently went back to his observation. Rouge asked again, this time stomping her foot. This time she was greeted with a pair of threatening green eyes in her face as her leader growled at her.

"I'm sure Eggman made some use out of him too!" the echidna replied. "But them being roboticized is not the point. It's where their loyalty went on that fateful day!"

Rouge was silent allowing him to continue on. Knuckles backed off of her and walked away.

"It doesn't make any sense to me as to how those three would allow themselves to be caught, it's just uncanny! I've seen them get out of the most dangerous situation with bruises and cuts all over and still be ready to take on their next mission. Then all of the sudden when I get wind of them not returning from the Mechalands, all seemed lost and I could only think that had finally met their match! But did they? NO!! They end up on Eggman's side doing his every damn biding!! They leave me in the cold for an even colder world!!"

"Well what if they really did get caught Knuckles!?"

Somehow that pushed him over his limit and the echidna got into her face again. She could never understand the pain he felt when he first laid eyes on ShadoMech and Metal Sonic in the tower. He didn't want to believe it was them in the portal he saw almost a week ago... but it was true. In his eyes his best friends had turn their backs on him leaving him nearly defenseless and hopeless in the war.

"I know them Rouge!!" Knuckles shouted in return. "They would never EVER get caught!! I can only think that they did it because they were beginning to give up on the war or already had given up."

"_Looks liksomebody else has too…_" Rouge thought to herself.

"...Those three pledged their loyalty to me and if they want to betray me then that's fine."

"But one of them came back asking for your help. Do you really think they betrayed you?"

Knuckles refused to answer and ordered Rouge to leave him alone. Rouge had finally gotten to the root of Knuckles' secluded behavior, but he had obviously rooted himself into that mind set over the years. Changing him back to who he was before the tragedy would take a miracle for that to happen.

Far away from the Defender army flying high above the smog clouds were Amy and Metal Sonic on their way to Prime Tower. The two descended below the clouds, Amy wearing a gas mask, in hopes of seeing how their timing was before the battle began. They could see lines of bright lights moving through the city streets.

"The Mecha army is on their way to battle the Defenders." Metal Sonic said after some quick analyzing.

"Already!? We have to hurry! There's not much time left!" Amy replied.

Metal Sonic quickened his flight towards Prime Tower and surprisingly were not confronted by and type of security; no jets, no spy bots, nothing! It's as if ShadoMech focused all of his attention on the battle and left the capital unprotected... or he wanted it to appear that way to any Defender spies. Either way, Amy and Metal Sonic saw this as their opportunity to rescue Tails from his capsule prison. Minutes flew by and as the two landed on top of Prime Tower they could hear cannon shots being fired in the distance as the battle began. They entered into the elevator on the rooftop and seconds later found themselves rushing down the cold blue hallway leading to Tails' lab. As the heavy doors opened, the fox immediately became aware of their presence and his two tails were set into motion.

"Sonic!?" Tails' voice rang in their minds.

He had pressed himself against the glass as Metal and Amy approached the machine.

"Yeah... it's me Tails." Sonic answered.

For the first time in years a smile fell upon the fox's face and even a tear drop rolled down his cheek from under the visor.

"We're gonna get you out of here, so just sit still for a few seconds." Amy said as she approached the console controlling Tails' capsule.

"No wait! You can't or else ShadoMech will kill both of you!"

"He's too busy with the battle. I doubt he'll stop to deal with us since he's so intent on other goals." Metal Sonic commented walking over to the console.

It was a few seconds before Amy had hacked her way into the program and Metal took her place at the computer and began to shut down several programs that powered the capsule. Soon the blue light from the capsule disappeared and Tails fell to the floor unable to walk; his legs had become weak after not using them for so many years. The glass case lifted up around the fox and Amy removed the helmet from his head and detached all of the wires connected to him. Finally she removed the visor and slowly Tails opened his blue eyes and looked into Amy's soft green eyes. He was awestruck by her beauty and even more amazed at finally seeing someone like him after so long. He had to reach out to her just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. ...It was real, it was all real. The soft touch of Amy's hand soothed Tails as he sighed heavily and beamed at her.

"I'd never thought I'd see the light of day after so many years..." he whispered to her.

Amy smiled taking his hand and then helped the fox to sit up. Metal Sonic had been standing behind her the entire time watching his little brother come back to life.

"Can you walk?" Amy asked Tails.

"I doubt. I can barely feel my legs." the fox replied.

Silently, Metal Sonic hoisted Tails into his arms and the three left the lab and got into the elevator. As they emerged out onto the rooftop, Amy finally asked what Metal was planning on doing with Tails.

"Remember when I told you about Tails' abnormal brain wave pattern?" Metal asked.

"Uh yeah." Amy had to think back to when she was imprisoned in Prime Tower and her first conversation with Metal Sonic.

"Well that abnormal brain wave is actually... some sort of psychic ability, but not the type I assume you're thinking of."

"Sonic..." Tails quietly interrupted the conversation.

Both Metal and Amy looked at Tails. He seemed a bit ashamed possibly of what Metal was about to tell Amy. Metal understood how private Tails wanted to keep his life but the Mecha explained that Amy had to know for she was their friend. The fox understood but kept his chin close to his chest as Metal and Amy walked out to the edge.

"You see Amy," Metal Sonic continued. "Tails has a magnetic psychic ability within his mind. He can bend or even break any type of metal at his will. Shadow and I believed he was born with it and so did our parents. Our dad told us to tell no one about it because he knew that many Organics would believe Tails to be some sort of Mecha/Organic hybrid created by Eggman and sent into Defender Territory as a spy. After checking with all of the fox families that were around at the time, our parents decided to adopt Tails."

"Wow..." Amy fell silent finding no words to say after Metal's story.

Assuming that all questions had been asked, Metal Sonic took to the air while Amy ripped apart her back pack to reveal a small jet pack on the inside. She followed after Metal Sonic and they flew off towards the center of the fierce battle.

A fireball exploded into the air as a small building collapsed upon its weak foundation. Several hundred Defenders attacked a large machine in hopes of taking it down. Knuckles lead on another group of sixty or so Defenders into a mass of Mechas and soon weapons were flying into the air and electricity sparked wildly as Mechas went down in mere seconds. The Defenders showed a great amount of spirit in the battle and easily over powered any group of Mechas they ran into but Knuckles was aware of ShadoMech's infinite supply of battling Mechas. Soon the Defenders would grow tired and weary from battle forcing Knuckles to rely on his powers and his best Defenders. He hated to admit it in the back of his mind, but he hoped that a miracle would come to rescue them.

Twenty minutes into battle and the Defenders had made very little movement from where the battle had started. It almost seemed stagnant as continuous waves of Mechas poured in every minute and Knuckles seemed to have had enough of the delay. After taking out a few Mechas around him, Knuckles gathered up power from the Emerald of Order that hung around his neck. Once fully powered, the echidna slammed his fist into the ground releasing the energy in a giant waved that swam out throughout the entire battle field. All Mechas that were touched by the opaque wave immediately began to malfunction allowing the Defender army to take them down easily.

The wave grew smaller and smaller as it traveled out in all directions until it disappeared. One Mecha who had not been affected by the energy was ShadoMech. He had formed a shield around him using the Emerald of Chaos and after the wave had passed by him he caught Knuckles in his eye sight and zoomed in to attack. The echidna spun around just in time to stop ShadoMech's attack and once again Knuckles found himself staring into the eyes of the black Mecha. Quickly ShadoMech kicked away the echidna and attempted an energy attack. Somked filled area from the blast and in the midst of it, Knuckles and ShadoMech flew out punching and kicking at each other. The Mecha suddenly grabbed Knuckles by the neck but the echidna, knowing the attack would come, took hold of the Mecha in return and threw him down towards the ground. The sheer velocity of the throw created a large crater and nearly shook the ground as Knuckles dived down at the same speed in hopes of smashing ShadoMech's head in. A bright green explosion filled the area from the impact but ShadoMech rose from the smoke a shimmering magenta shield surrounding him.

Immediately Knuckles gave pursuit but as he ascended, the echidna was greeted with a small energy blast that blinded him momentarily. This gave ShadoMech enough time to get in a few more hits before Knuckles had his guard up again retaliating with all of his might. After several seconds of impenetrable hits from both leaders, Knuckles was finally able to blast away ShadoMech long enough to order the Defenders to move in towards the capital. Immediately the Defenders heard the message and were quickly heading towards the capitol down the open road ahead of them. Suddenly the road was filled with Mechas pouring out of buildings left and right and swarmed down the street like a wild river.

Just when the soldiers thought they had to fight their way through another sea of robots, a green wave of energy swept over the area clearing their path. The Defenders continued their charge towards the capital which was only a few miles away with Knuckles flying overhead leading the group. The echidna released more and more energy waves to stop any approaching robot but soon the flow of robots suddenly stopped; ShadoMech had some sort of trap waiting for them. Despite the obvious trap, Knuckles was determined to get his men into the capital for if they were able to capture or even destroy Prime Tower, then that would boost the Defender's chances of winning the war.

Suddenly Knuckles caught a small flash in the distance out of the corner of his eye. As he looked he could barely make out two objects that seemed to be fighting in the sky. One of the objects was easily identified as ShadoMech... and the other appeared to be... Metal Sonic? Apparently Rouge was right about Metal Sonic despite how much the echidna refused to believe it. Metal was still loyal to Knuckles after so many years but was this simple act of loyalty enough to change his mind? Hardly. Knuckles ignored the distant battle and continued on towards the capital.

Metal Sonic quickly moved out of the way as ShadoMech attacked him using the Emerald of Chaos. The magenta attack flew by Metal but the blue Mecha refused to retaliate. He desperately wanted to convince ShadoMech to stop the robots but Amy urged Metal Sonic to give up.

"It's useless Sonic! Shadow's gone, you'll never get him back." the young girl yelled to him.

Tails was sitting next to her agreeing with Amy, but Metal Sonic refused to listen to either of them. He promised to Tails years ago and Cream just an hour ago that he would bring back both of his brothers to Defender territory. Yet the promise didn't mean anything to Tails now. Even he realized that ShadoMech would never change his mind for he knew the true reason behind ShadoMech's stubborn behavior. Metal took another hit and fell to the street where Amy and Tails were but before he could return to the sky, Tails stopped Metal.

"Sonic, just give up already! He's never going to change, not even for you!"

Metal Sonic looked back intrigued by Tails' statement.

"Shadow has always been jealous of you ever since the three of us joined the Defender force. He was always upset at how you would get most of the attention because of some heroic deed you would do and he would barely get even half of that attention for all of the hard work that he did. I doubt you realized this but you were always a show off on missions even when Knuckles told you not to be one. Even though Shadow was mostly jealous of your popularity, he eventually began to hate you because you were inconsiderate about how he and I felt... but it really didn't bother me that much."

Tails had said a mouthful but was it really all the truth? Metal glanced back up at ShadoMech who had listened intently to what Tails had said. Metal Sonic couldn't quite understand why his older brother would hate him for just being himself. Metal always thought that he could always be relaxed and free around his older brother. But now this sudden restriction from his own family... was unbelievable. Yet after taking another glance into ShadoMech's cold red eyes... Metal Sonic could finally see it. He could see the anger, the jealously, and even the hate deep within ShadoMech. He could finally see everything that he was too blind to see because he refused to believe that his older brother, the one he looked up to as a role model and for comfort, hated him. ...And then it dawned on him the fearful truth of how things would be from now on. They would be enemies, foes, whatever you want to call it. Metal would no longer rely on ShadoMech to lead the way for now he was the older brother and Tails would be the one in his shadow... and if that's the way things had to be… then so be it.

Metal Sonic hovered up to where ShadoMech was and looked into his emotionless eyes.

"I may never see my brother again… and that's fine. But if he's still inside of you somewhere, tell Shadow that I love him very much and I thank him for all that he's done for me."

"Your desperate attempt to hold onto something that no longer exists amuses me. But because of your irrational behavior towards your Mecha family, I have no other choice but to terminate you." ShadoMech said in response.

Even though the Mecha leader was serious about his threat, Metal Sonic remained in his place. As apart of who he is, Metal refused to let his new enemy scare him into defeat nor was he one to flee from battle. ShadoMech began to power up some energy from the Emerald of Chaos and soon was ready to attack. Metal remained immobile. The energized attack was launched creating a blinding light in the area, but when the light cleared the white eagle that belonged to Knuckles had come in between Metal and the attack. The eagle had taken the full force of the attack until the energy died down. Suddenly the bird fell out of the sky, no pain, no fear in his eyes and slammed into the pavement near Amy and Tails. The two Organics were shocked while the Mechas remained hovering over the area. Amy saw the eagle's violet eye gaze upon her. The eagle was speaking to her through his only emotion.

"Accept the power..." the hedgehog heard in her mind, but she was too confused to understand what the message meant.

A single tear drop fell out of the eagle's eye and splashed upon the pavement in sparkling drops of water. In an ethereal fashion the fair eagle disappeared into the air as shimmering drops of air slowly fading away as they ascended. Suddenly a light breeze blew by blowing some of the dust onto Amy but the rest disappeared. Amy and Tails gazed up at Metal Sonic, who in turn looked to his older brother. The four remained silent until ShadoMech launched another attack powered by his Emerald of Chaos. Metal dodged the attack and swooped down to pick up Tails and Amy. ShadoMech began to attack the three with an assault of attacks but the three were able to escape quickly towards the capital.

The Defender army had finally reached the capital area and had already been greeted by an onslaught of Mecha robots hiding in the shadows. Explosions lit up the night air as Organics and Mechas clashed in a brutal fight. Mechas were self-destructing, Organics were setting off bombs and even grew into the habit of attacking Mechas in large groups. Knuckles and his Elite Defenders were taking down several Mechas at once but their large numbers didn't seem to weaken Mecha army at all. Metal, Tails, and Amy had finally arrived in the capital area with ShadoMech hot on their heels. The Mecha leader fired another energy shot at the trio brazing them and sending the three spiraling into the side of Prime Tower. After observing the smoking hole for a few seconds, ShadoMech was satisfied and descended to help his army in combat.

The Mecha leader showed no mercy as he released several magenta energy waves upon the cluttered battlefield before him. Organics, Mechas, anyone in ShadoMech's way felt the force of his attacks as he searched for his only target: the Organics' leader. Finally he spotted Knuckles finishing off a few large robots. The red echidna spun around, his eye glowing brightly of green. Suddenly he froze as he looked at ShadoMech. The small area around the two was littered with dead bodies and robots out of commission. The Mecha leader rose into the air via his jetpack and Knuckles followed. In the blink of an eye the two shattered against each other with their emeralds glowing brightly. ShadoMech attempted to crush Knuckles hands but the echidna kicked the Mecha away and charged forward slamming ShadoMech into a nearby building.

The two were shrouded in smoke from the collision but quickly flew out with the echidna yelling in agony. ShadoMech had pierced his metal hand through the Organic's stomach refusing to pull away. Immediately the two fell to the ground causing ShadoMech's claw to dig deeper into the wound. Through all the pain Knuckles was able to open up one eye before ShadoMech disappeared from view ripping his blood soaked claw out as well. Slowly Knuckles rolled to his side to see Rouge pummeling ShadoMech out of rage and then sent him flying with a swift kick to his side. The bat looked back to see Knuckles struggling to hold back the pain and rushed to his side.

"Are you ok?" she asked looking at the gruesome wound.

He only nodded in return before the emerald around his neck began to glow its green color and healed the wound within seconds. By then ShadoMech was on his feet again and hovered into the air. Rouge heard the Mecha's jetpack and spun around ready to charge again but Knuckles tried to stop the bat with the little strength he regained. It was no use, Rouge was already gone and charging towards ShadoMech. The Mecha flexed his metallic claws before taking off straight for the enraged bat. In a flash of blood splatter, ShadoMech had forced his hand straight through Rouge's torso. A look of pain and shock covered her face as red liquid rained down on the two. Rouge wrapped her hands around ShadoMech's arms but the robot wasted no time in ripping her away from him. Knuckles watched in horror as his only love shattered onto the pavement struggling to breath.

"ROUGE!!" the echidna cried out running to her.

The gaping hole in her stomach was drowning in blood as she reached out to her lover.

"Help... me..." she forced out of her blood filled throat.

... And then she gave up. Not wanting to withstand anymore pain, Rouge slipped away into death... the unbearable look stuck on her face. Knuckles cradled the corpse in his arms wanting to cry out the pain in his heart. Yet he couldn't, his eyes remained dried as the anger within him grew. He had already lost his best Defenders once to the Mechas and now that another, more personal, ally was gone, the crime could not go unpunished. Once again the echidna's eyes glowed a fierce green but now steam rose from his body; the Emerald of Order was giving him more power. The corpse slipped out of his hands as Knuckles rose to his feet. ShadoMech stared at him from above waiting for the Organic's next attack.

A sonic boom exploded throughout the area as Knuckles slammed his fist into ShadoMech. But the robot was quick in response by putting up a barrier to block the attack. Sparks wildly flew from the barrier so Knuckles jumped back and attacked again, this time slipping by ShadoMech's defenses. A series of blows to ShadoMech's face followed with little hope that Knuckles would stop. Finally ShadoMech got a chance to parry an attack and came back with his own distinct attacks at the echidna.

Up in Prime Tower, Metal, Amy, and Tails were on the rooftop gazing down upon the battle below. The two leaders gave each other a few more powerful attacks before disappearing off to some other area to battle.

"We better stop the battle before Shadow decides to do something drastic." said Metal Sonic.

Together he and Amy gazed at Tails in between them. The fox quickly looked at the two growing nervous of what they had in mind.

"N-now?" the fox asked shaking.

"Tails, if you don't try then how will we stop both sides from fighting? We can't allow this battle to drag us in deeper into the war." Amy pleaded with him.

Still nervous about his challenge, Tails looked down upon the battle once again. Small explosions could be seen scattered all about the capital area and the sounds of Organics and Mechas clashing together was heard as well. The boy had been cooped up inside Prime Tower for so many years where the only trips he took outside were to the rooftop. Now he had the chance to end it all with one single wave of his magnetic abilities. But he could still remember the incident that brought him and his brothers to this point. He almost killed them years ago, so why risk the lives of thousands of Organics? The boy's attention was grabbed when the battle cry of a group of Organics filled the air. He looked down and, at the base of Prime Tower, could see the soldiers ambushing a few Mechas. Suddenly Tails saw his reason. The reason to risk everything for this battle. Those men down their had families waiting for them back at Defender Territory and if they died in a victorious battle then their deaths would not have been in vain. The Organics would be one step closer to returning order to the world and Tails would finally be able to see the beautiful blue sky again. Even though he had lost one brother, and the Mechas could never become Organics again, the thought of seeing the world he once loved was worth fighting for.

With his decision made, Tails forced himself to stand. Metal tried to help but the fox gently pushed the blue Mecha away and stood on his own. He legs were still weak and wobbled a bit but Tails stood strong holding his chest out.

"So you're going to do it?" Amy asked standing up.

"Yeah... going home is the only thing I wanted to do these past years." the fox replied.

Carefully Amy wrapped an arm around Tails' waist and the fox held onto the girl. Slowly the three comrades descended down to the base of Prime Tower in an open area. Metal Sonic kept a close eye for any attacking Mechas while Tails prepared to do his part of the plan.

"Ready?" Amy asked as she released the boy.

Silently he nodded and stood on his own wobbling a bit. Amy threw off her jetpack and Metal Sonic quickly took off into the air to avoid the attack.

"Amy, you may feel a little force from the wave but it shouldn't affect you." Tails warned the hedgehog.

Heeding the warning, Amy separated herself from Tails while the fox closed his eyes. Darkness shrouded his sight and the young fox could see various war torn images. Defender soldiers fighting off Mechas three times their size. Dead bodies scattered across areas where battles have taken place. Finally, Knuckles and ShadoMech still fighting with each other. Tails had to stop all of the madness for it was clearly tearing everyone apart. Suddenly he felt it. The strange energy building up within his head could be felt physically. Quickly the fox built up as much energy as he could until his head was on the brink of exploding.

...Finally it happened.

A large wave of invisible magnetic energy exploded from Tails pushing Amy back a bit. As the wave traveled throughout the capital area, building foundations, scraps of metal on the ground, and even Mechas where bent out of shape in horrible ways. Another wave was released and metals were bent even more and windows shattered into pieces. Then in a rhythmic fashion, Tails emitted more and more waves and the Mecha army began to crumble right in front of the Defenders' eyes. Even ShadoMech began to feel the effects of the waves and fell to the ground crumbling under the attacks. Immediately Knuckles knew that it was Tails' doing but was neither pleased nor disappointed. Suddenly ShadoMech used the Emerald of Chaos to create a barrier around him to negate the magnetic attacks. Slowly he rose into the air and Knuckles quickly put up his guard. Yet ShadoMech ignored the echidna and flew towards the Prime Tower area.

Tails let out a few more magnetic waves before running out of energy and collapsing to his knees. Amy rushed to his side and looked around at the damage. The bases of every building around them were completely sunk in with all of the windows gone. Mechas both broken and working were now piles of crumpled up scrap and surrounded by confused Defenders. Amy was amazed at the power Tails possessed and wondered why he didn't use it more often years ago before the accident. Before she could check on Tails' health, Amy head the sounds of a jetpack in the area. Quickly the hedgehog looked all around hoping to see where the sound was coming from... but then it faded away.

"Come on Tails. Let's get out of here." Amy said picking up the fox.

Suddenly an explosion was heard from behind them. Amy looked back to see that several floors of Prime Tower had been blown out and were now falling towards her and Tails. Knowing that they wouldn't make it out, Amy threw herself over Tails as the massive wave of debris fell upon them. The debris seemed to have overcome the two as it toppled over them and Metal Sonic watched in horror as his friends disappeared. Immediately he searched the area for the Mecha who did this and saw his own brother, ShadoMech, hovering on the opposite side of Prime Tower. In a blazing flash, Metal exploded through four floors and came out of the other side to face his brother.

"Shadow! What are you doing!?" Metal demanded of his brother.

"Ridding the world of the kind you protect so dearly brother... and now it's your turn." ShadoMech raised a hand and began to power up energy within it.

Just as he was ready to fire the sphere of energy, Prime Tower gave an awful creaking moan as the two lower floors began to give in under the weight of the upper levels. ShadoMech and Metal Sonic watched as the tower collapsed upon the two lower floors and then one by one the above floors gave in. Suddenly the upper half of the tower began to topple over as it fell and Metal Sonic and ShadoMech quickly left the area. A billowing cloud of smoke rose into the air darkening the area with Metal Sonic disappearing into the smoke to search for his friends.

As the Mecha frantically searched through the debris, a powerful white beam of light shot out of the mountain of mess. Metal watched as Amy and Tails ascended from the beam in an awe inspiring glory. The pink hedgehog was the source of the light. The last bit of dust from her eagle friend had blessed Amy with a small amount of the eagle's powers. Although it wasn't much, it was enough to save her and Tails from certain doom. The beam of light disappeared and Metal quickly caught Amy and Tails and descended to the streets.

"What happened?" Metal asked Amy.

"I...I don't know. I just saw the debris falling upon us and suddenly this shield was created around myself and Tails. I really don't know where it came from... but I'm glad it was there." Amy explained shaken from the experience.

Just then her eyes gazed up into the wide open sky above them. Prime Tower no longer ate up a piece of the sky like the four towers surrounding it. Even though it was only tower that had fallen... it seemed to have made a world of a difference in the war. Prime Tower was practically the heart of the Mechalands and now with that out of the way, there was an actual ray of hope for the Organic nation. But there still remained one obstacle between them and their bright future. A magenta beam exploded into the pavement before the three and Amy and Metal looked up to see ShadoMech appearing in through the dust of Prime Tower.

"Father's dream was to create a better world for all to live in where we would not have to fear death or starvation anything else that Organics suffer from. But you, traitor, have chosen to take it all away from him and help these weaklings!" ShadoMech scolded Metal Sonic.

"The world is decaying because of Eggman's selfish ambitions to destroy all life and create a world of his own! I can't stand by idly and allow you to destroy the world we grew up in!" Metal retorted.

ShadoMech had enough with words and was ready to attack his enemy until a green beam shot straight through him. ShadoMech looked back to see Knuckles hovering through the dust with his deadly green eyes. ShadoMech shot towards the echidna and met with Knuckles' protecting shield.

"You can not defend your nation forever Organic. Sooner or later you will fall under my power." ShadoMech warned Knuckles.

"Look who's talking?" the echidna replied. "Your base of commands has fallen and so will the entire Mecha nation worldwide. Without Tails and Sonic to help you gain control over your kind, you're hopeless... and I wish things could've turned out better for you. We're certainly going to miss you Shadow."

ShadoMech couldn't understand why his enemy felt sorrow and compassion for him. He could only understand that they were in the way of Eggman's dream so they had to be eliminated. ShadoMech powered up energy from the Emerald of Chaos while Knuckles powered up energy from his Emerald of Order. Everything seemed to be going fine until the emeralds began to react violently from being so close to each other. Knuckles and ShadoMech could barely control the energy they had built up and Amy and Metal wanted to help the two, but the power overwhelmed the two leaders. Sparks of electrical power sparked from the emeralds and finally two beams surrounded Knuckles and ShadoMech.

Although the two were paralyzed by the power, Knuckles knew he had to get rid of the emeralds so he grabbed onto the Emerald of Chaos. A surge of energy exploded from the two as Knuckles made contact with the emerald. Over the years his body had absorbed vast amounts of energy from the Emerald of Chaos making his body nearly a living emerald. With his hand stuck onto the Emerald of Chaos and ShadoMech unable to function properly, Knuckles gave one last look at his friends below. He felt so ashamed over the fact that he refused to cooperate with them before the battle and now he was paying the price for his negligence... but he knew that his death would not have been in vain.

"_Whatever the outcome of this battle is... at least I can die knowing that the world is in good hands_." Knuckles thought as he looked at Amy.

The power of the two emeralds grew wilder and wilder until something shot from the debris under the two. It was a large growing piece of wood and several other branches grew after it. The branches grew up and around the two enveloping the leaders in the large trunk of the tree. As the massive tree grew taller, Knuckles and ShadoMech were squeezed and overwhelmed within the tree. Metal and Amy looked up in horror as their closest friend struggled to stay alive and then suddenly something dramatic happened. With his free hand, Knuckles grabbed onto the tiny Emerald of Order and ripped it from around his neck. With the last of his strength, the echidna threw the emerald down to Amy and she caught it.

"Carry on... the power! Our future depends on it!" Knuckles shouted.

Amy was speechless as she watched Knuckles' body disappear with only his face and a hand sticking out. At that moment Tails woke up from his unconscious state to the horrid sight before his eyes.

"Shadow!!" Tails cried out but Amy held him down for his own health.

"There's nothing we can do." Metal informed his little brother.

Immediately Tails began to cry as he watch ShadoMech struggle to break out of the bark but the tree continuously pulled him back in. Earlier he remembered believing with all his heart that ShadoMech would never change. Yet the sight of his older brother on the verge of death struck the boy's heart in a painful and torturing way.

Suddenly ShadoMech looked down at Tails and Metal and something miraculous happened within his circuits. The energy from the Emerald of Chaos had finally broke through ShadoMech's robotic circuits and freed his organic mind that was lost within. For the first time in years ShadoMech finally saw Metal and Tails for who they really were... his brothers. Now realizing the impending doom he was facing, ShadoMech had to do something... something about the Emerald of Chaos. Years ago he believed that all things, whether it was good or bad, could be used for the benefit of society and it's something he still believed in till this very moment.

Quickly the Mecha ripped the Emerald of Chaos from his neck and threw it down to his younger brother. Metal Sonic caught it and looked up at ShadoMech.

"Believe ..." ShadoMech said to his brother. "Believe a happy ending for us all."

Metal nodded as his brother disappeared into the tree with only his face and part of his right arm sticking out. Seconds later the tree stopped growing. A bushel of large green leaves sat on top and Metal, Amy and Tails thought that it was finally over, but the tree went through one final stage. Now it was time for the power of the Emerald of Chaos to have its turn. Slowly from the base up the tree was turned into pure metal. Less than a minute later the entire tree was completely metal, including Knuckles and ShadoMech. Finally it was over; the fighting, the war, the hatred could finally end.

Gently, Amy tied the Emerald of Order around her neck and held Tails close to her as the boy sobbed silently. Metal Sonic was silent as he looked down at the Emerald of Chaos in his hand. The tiny purple gem sparkled and suddenly shined as a piece of sunlight shone down through the parting smog clouds for the first time since the war began. Most of the dust from the fall of Prime Tower had cleared allowing the sky to be shown and right before Metal's eyes was a piece of wonderful dawning sky. Amy and Tails caught sight of the light and looked up as well; Tails' tears became tears of joy. His dream had finally come true.

While the two younger ones smiled with excitement, Metal thought back to a memory that came to mind when he heard ShadoMech's last words.

It was a few years before the accident with Sonic and Shadow relaxing in Defender Territory after a long mission. The sun was preparing to set and residents of the forest were returning to their homes. Sonic and Shadow had found their favorite spot high in a tree that looked out towards the west. The red-orange sky and golden sun created a beautiful sunset that couldn't be forgotten, but the conversation between the brothers was worth much more.

"Shadow, do you think it's possible for this war to end with everyone happy and no side losing?" Sonic asked his older brother.

"I believe this war will end the way it's suppose to end." the black hedgehog replied.

"Yeah... Hey, maybe that's why we're here, to help the war end peacefully with everyone happy and Eggman gone for good."

Shadow said nothing but had an unsure look on his face. Sonic was curious as to what his insightful brother had to say. Finally Shadow spoke.

"A happy ending..." Shadow muttered.

"Yeah, do you believe in them?" Sonic asked.

"Not specifically in wars." Sonic frowned upon this. "But I do believe that everyone and everything, whether good or bad, is here for a purpose that can benefit us all... even if that purpose is unknown."

"So is a happy ending possible in a war then?"

Shadow nodded with a small smile on his face and Sonic felt much better.

...But now Metal Sonic wanted to take back that smile he held all of those years ago. Back then he expected a happy ending for everyone... he got his ending but inside he knew that not everyone was happy. Oh how he regretted having such an enormous dream within him.


	10. Two Worlds United

Mecha Action!

Chapter 10: Two Worlds United

The clouds continued to part above the area where Prime Tower once stood. Tails, Amy, and Metal remained silent as they gazed upon the metal faces of ShadoMech and Knuckles embedded into the tree. Through the continuing rising dust behind them came the survivors of the Defender army. Leading them was the lion and his friend Phoenix and they were too distracted by the site of the gigantic metal tree to notice Metal Sonic. There was dead silence as the group looked upon their former leader who was a few feet below ShadoMech. The lion approached Amy asking her what happened.

"The powers of their emeralds reacted violently to each other and trapped them inside the tree." she answered quietly.

Murmurs of whispers and low conversation could be heard coming from the Defender group but suddenly they were overcome by the sounds of screeches and mechanical wails from all around them. In the dust, Mechas who were not affected by Tails' attack emerged out onto the rooftops, on empty streets, and out of the manholes in the area. They continued their sorrowed wails and screeches as they surrounded the small Defender army. Amy jumped to her feet gazing around at the hundreds of Mechas, all with glowing eyes aching to rip apart the enemy.

"What's going?" Amy asked. "Why did they show up?"

Metal Sonic was silent for a few seconds deciphering the wails.

"They're mourning the loss of their leader... and want to kill all Organics." Metal replied.

"Well stop them! You have the Emerald of Chaos, they'll listen to you."

Without hesitation, Metal tied the emerald around his neck and hovered into the air. The Emerald of Chaos glowed its shining purple/gray color grabbing the attention of all the Mechas.

"Listen to me my family!" Metal's voice echoed. "Please do not harm the Organics for the end of our leader."

An uproar of anger came from the masses.

"It is not their fault for this tragedy, nor does all the blame fall on us. Everyone is responsible. For years we have been fighting against each other, turned against our brethren because of the actions of one tyrant. But he is no longer with us freeing our wills and allowing us a chance to regain the lives we once had years ago."

There was dead silence among both groups. The Mechas were hanging onto Metal Sonic's every word and even giving thought to his message. Amy then climbed her way to the top of a debris pile and Metal joined her.

"Look around, all of you." the girl shouted. "Look and see who you have been fighting."

The Emerald of Order glowed a healthy green allowing her voice to carry out to everyone in the area. Both groups began to gaze around at each other; Mechas looking down at the Defenders and the Defenders looking up around them.

"You may be surprised to see someone who looks similar to you or what you once looked like. Do not but surprised or ashamed for they were once your family and you were turned against each other. You were taught to hate the other, fear the other, and even kill the other and look where it has brought us."

Amy then turned holding a hand out towards the metallic tree.

"This tree symbolizes something. It symbolizes the wall between our two worlds being torn down and the end of a dark era for our planet. However it is also a reminder of what happens when friends and family are pit against each other. Our two leaders hated each other right down to the core of their hearts until a few moments ago before their death. Everyone in battle would've suffered the same fate as well leaving behind a world in chaos."

Amy turned back to her audience to conclude her speech.

"Now that the fighting has stopped, let's use this time of peace to end this war and start rebuilding the world we once knew. It may take a few years to undo the damage Eggman has caused but together we can survive and so will future generations."

There was a slow reception of the speech but eventually both Mechas and the Defenders were cheering on Amy and Metal Sonic. Tails managed to stand on his own and joined Amy and Metal on the debris pile to look out at the two worlds.

"You did good Amy. You did good." Tails said to the hedgehog.

"I only did what was right, but we still have a long way to go." Amy replied.

Together the two looked upon Metal Sonic who, although could not show any expression, seemed pleased with the sight before him.

"You may not be here to see it Shadow, but I finally got the 'happy ending' I wanted." Metal said to himself.

The celebration continued of for what seemed like hours as the smog clouds parted over the capital of the Mechalands.

Twenty years into the future and things could have never been any better. The mountain chain barrier around Defender Territory was torn down using Amy's Emerald of Order and the capital of the Mechalands had been torn down as well and rebuilt as the capital of the entire world. Organics finally were able to leave the comfort of the Defender forest and for the first time saw the world outside of theirs. Some were reluctant to accept the conditions and even trust the Mechas, but the Mechas gained a positive reputation with the help of their leader Metal Sonic.

In a matter of years both Mechas and Organics were working together to clean up the mess of the Mechalands rebuilding little by little near the capital area hoping to restore the world to a state where Organics can live free without fear of diseases. Then came the day when the Defenders were officially disbanded and a memorial near the metallic tree, named the Grace Tree, was put up in recognition of all Defenders. Yet conflicts still came up so a police force of Organics and Mechas, known as the Protectors, was form to handle all conflicts and crime.

Amy and Metal were hailed as leaders of the world for a short time but they handed the title over to Tails who had grown to be quite the visionary for all. After mastering his magnetic psychic abilities, the fox also gained the ability to communicate with all Mechas making him the perfect candidate to lead the world. Amy and Metal were merely representatives of both populations of the world thus becoming subordinates to Tails.

In eighteen years the Capital of the World was finally complete as well as a few areas around it. The skies were crystal clear and eventually natural weather conditions returned to the area as well. But on this sunny day in the Capital, an emotional cloud of darkness hung over the city. A progression of black limousines were winding through the city towards the gigantic glass dome that was built over the Grace Tree. Protector officers escorted the nine limousines to the front of the dome and several attendants approached each limousine to welcome the delegates of the world to the mourning ceremony of the death of Knuckles and ShadoMech. Out of the first limo marked with flags came Tails, Amy and Metal Sonic.

Despite Tails' chronological age he had aged normally into a handsome adult. Wearing a navy blue tuxedo with a red and gold sash across his chest, the fox helped out a beautiful Amy who had flowing pink hair and carried a bouquet of flowers. She wore a white formal dress and even had the Emerald of Order still hung around her neck where it had always been for the past twenty years. Metal Sonic, who was the last to exit, had his entire body coated a platinum color. The Emerald of Chaos hung around his neck glowing as bright as it could with the sun's rays reflecting through it.

Together the three stood gazing at the dome ahead of them, memories of the tragic day rushing into their minds.

"I can hardly believe it's been twenty years already." said Amy.

"Yes, but life goes on and so must we." Tails said walking slowly towards the entrance. Metal followed and Amy was about to do the same until someone called out her name.

"Amy!" a young woman's voice called out to her.

The hedgehog looked off to her right to see an adult Cream heading towards her. Amy felt a light smile come onto her face as her old friend approached. The two women could only smile and hug for it had been years since they had last spoken. Cream, who was the delegate of State 9 which was once Defender Territory, had grown into a lovely young woman. Much to Amy's surprise, the rabbit had grown out a ponytail and Cream had on a gray suit with a knee length skirt.

"I never get tired of looking up to you." Cream said to her best friend.

"Well it's something I'm used to now that others are doing the same." Amy replied.

Together the two walked towards the entrance of the dome. Cream noticed Amy's outfit and became curious as to why she wore such a pure color on a sorrowful day.

"Why white Amy? Does today mean something different to you?" Cream asked gently.

Amy nodded.

"I wear white because Knuckles and Shadow may have died on this date, but their deaths were a blessing to the world. Had it not been for them then who knows where we would be."

A valiant reason to where such a pure color. The sacrifice of the two did mean freedom for all but there were still others who mourned with sorrow in their hearts. Inside the glass dome a garden had been built around the metallic tree. Fountains and springs of clear water ran about and trees and flowers were abundant all around. A seating of chairs and a podium was set up at the base of the Grace Tree but Tails and Metal Sonic stood off to the side looking up at where Knuckles and ShadoMech were in the tree. The ceremony had not begun yet so the girls joined the guys at the tree. Amy quietly grabbed onto Tails' hand as he gazed up at his brother.

"So he wanted a happy ending?" Tails asked Metal.

"Yes, even though he didn't believe they were possible in a war." the Mecha replied.

The two remained silent as they reflected upon their past lives. A few seconds later Amy parted from the guys followed by Cream. Together they approached a large headstone with the name 'Rouge' engraved onto it as well as her birth date and death date. Right behind the headstone was a tall stone statue of Rouge facing the Grace Tree. Amy had requested the grave to be placed in the direction Knuckles was looking in an open area of grass in hopes of the two reconnecting with each other in the afterlife. Together, Amy and Cream knelt down in front of the headstone and placed the bouquet of flowers on it. After a few moments of silence, the two women opened their eyes, Amy's filled with tears.

"I only knew her for a short time, but I could easily tell that she had suffered so much in her life." the hedgehog spoke with a broken voice.

Cream only hugged Amy gently and the two went back to the ceremony area where the other delegates and special guest were gathering. The four friends found their seats in the front row; Tails and Cream on the outside with Metal Sonic and Amy in between. As the reverend began his speech, Amy held onto Metal's hand and squeezed it. He looked down at her curiously.

"We made it..." she whispered with a smile.

Metal Sonic nodded in agreement. Together they broke an ongoing cycle against all odds and made it out with a renewed love and appreciation for life and a promise to protect the new world they had created.

The End


End file.
